1: Love in the Dark
by FullonHappiness
Summary: He didn't say anything back then, but his songs are definitely telling a story now. Set years later, follow Blaine on his journey as he gets some pleasant news and sets out on a little adventure to get back something he lost due to his careless actions. Season 4 - AU
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own the characters created by the 'Glee' creators, but I do own the ones I make up. I also don't take credit for any content – dialogues and such that have been used from the show 'Glee'. And I don't earn any profits from this story; it's just for fun.

* * *

"Blaine Anderson."

"Sebastian Smythe."

"Are you a freshman?"

"Do I look like a freshman?"

"..."

* * *

"First of all, Blaine, I'm sorry about your eye."

"That means nothing to me."

* * *

"Why don't you get a boyfriend, you know somebody nice."

"Ew, boyfriend."

"You say it like its some disease."

"Well, it looks likes one to me. I mean you are looking particularly thrashed after the suffering caused by the said boyfriend disease."

"So you'll never have one then."

"I don't know, I'd say never say never."

* * *

"You're certainly more than what meets the eye."

"Isn't everybody?"

* * *

"We're not Blaine and Sebastian... we're Blaine and that guy that he had sex with..."

"You're more than that Bas..."

"I have to go, Blaine. Don't contact me ever again."

"I love him and what he represents in my life."

"Well, then I suggest you let me get over whatever it is you think I'm feeling in peace without trying to be in my life anymore. Go live your life as if I never existed and I will try to do the same."

* * *

"Bas, I need... I need you to tell me that everything will be ok."

"Of course, it will be ok… but for all that to happen you need to forget about me because we are just toxic to each other. Not everything is supposed to become something beautiful and long-lasting."

* * *

"I want your help."

"All those in favor of helping Blaine."

"We'll help you."

"Can I hug you, just once?"

"Yes."

* * *

 **A few years later**

"Hi, Sebastian."

"Uh... um, I'm sorry. I can't do this right now, I need to..."

"Sebastian, SEBASTIAN. Please… Bas, just listen to me once. I'm sorry... I..."

* * *

"Hello, who's this?"

"..."

"Hello…?"

"Hi, Blaine."

"Sebastian...?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: This story is set in future but with Season 4 AU.**

* * *

Blaine didn't know what he thought he'd gain from this little adventure but he could very well blame it on shock, curiosity and copious amounts of alcohol he consumed last night that he was standing here today. He didn't tell anyone about this, as he knew how no one would understand that this is something that he had to absolutely do, and preferably do it on his own. While the Warblers were thrilled and excited about Trent's reveal, his reaction had been more bittersweet than joyous after his session with Riley. They didn't have the same kind of investment that he had with this person and they certainly didn't end things with the said person in the same way he had. That was why he was doing this on his own rather than involving anybody else.

While he was walking down the street, he thought back to the first time they met and as much he tried to deny at that time, even he knew that things changed for him in an epic sort of way that day. Blaine accepted it now that he affected him more than Blaine led on and his world had definitely changed after the 'hurricane' passed and rest assured, Sebastian had been nothing less than a hurricane. So much had changed since then and Blaine could only hope he would get a chance to say something rather than getting the door closed on his face, though after everything that is something he rightly deserved. Oh how the tables had turned; he is the one who is chasing now rather being chased.

Blaine wasn't sure of the exact address, all he knew from his research that Sebastian moved into this building recently. As he was pondering on ways to find that information he looked around. The view in front of him was breathtaking with Hudson River in front and the neighborhood clearly housed the rich and famous.

While he was waiting he saw a middle-aged lady walking with grocery bags and dry-cleaning trying to handle everything on her own so he decided to help her. Maybe his good deed of the day would turn luck in his favor. "Hi, do you need help? I could carry this for you," Blaine said walking towards the lady smiling.

"Uh... it's fine. This is my building I'll manage. But thank you for asking" the lady replied warmly in a British accent.

"Oh... okay, never mind. Have a good day then," Blaine said letting her go. He turned away from her and started walking away. And as he was walking away, a moment later, he heard the lady calling again so he stopped and turned back. "Excuse me, hello?" the lady called again.

"Yes...?" Blaine asked not understanding.

"Don't take this the wrong way but by any chance, is your name Blaine?" the lady asked him when he walked back to her.

"Uh, yes it is. But how do you...?" Blaine told her still surprised that she knew his name. He couldn't place her face anywhere as he was sure he had never met her before so he couldn't understand how she knew his name.

"My name is Lily. My employer used to be your friend… in school, Sebastian?"

"Sebastian Smythe?"

"Yes, I work for him. I recognized you from some photos. He told me you were his friend" she replied. Blaine was definitely in shock so he didn't know how to reply to that. "Would you like to come upstairs and meet him? I think he'd be happy to see you," Lily said when he didn't respond for a moment.

Blaine could only thank whichever deity who listened to his prayers for this sudden turn of events. Ten minutes earlier he was planning to stake out in front of the building to wait for Sebastian to come out and now somebody was offering to take him to meet him.

"Sure. But you've to let me carry some of the bags now if we're going to the same destination," Blaine replied trying to act normal while he was mentally jumping inside with joy.

"Such a gentlemen. What were you doing here by the way?" Lily asked making conversation.

"I was meeting a friend for coffee here," Blaine lied a bit too easily. He definitely didn't want to come across as a potential stalker to Lily. They walked to the entrance, got inside the elevator and Lily punched in the code and they started ascending.

"So what do you do Blaine?" Lily asked him to fill the silence.

"I'm a student" Blaine replied.

"And what are you studying?"

"Psychology."

"You're going to be a counselor then?" Lily aid warmly.

"That's the plan."

"Your parents must be proud."

"They are. Can I ask you something?" Blaine replied. While he was happy that he was one step closer but at the same time, he was getting terrified as they climbed up.

Lily smiled, "sure."

"Do you think Sebastian would want to meet me? I mean we didn't keep in touch for so many years," Blaine said. Even though he got an easy access to Sebastian, he still didn't know if Sebastian would be receptive to meet him or not. Last time they saw each other was years ago and he had basically dropped a bomb on him. Blaine didn't know how well Lily knew Sebastian but he tried to gauge the situation somehow.

"I can't answer for him but I think he'd be happy to meet an old friend," Lily answered fondly.

"If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for Sebastian?" Blaine asked again trying to understand the dynamic between Lily and Sebastian.

"Basically, I take care of him and his house. I've been doing it since he was a baby," she told him affectionately.

"Oh..." Blaine was definitely amazed by the information.

"Yes, I know" Lily laughed seeing the surprise on his face. Blaine blushed as the doors opened and when he looked on the side, he saw that they were on the penthouse level. Lily walked into the foyer and he followed behind her. As he walked inside the main door, he saw beautiful artworks lining the walls and floors.

Lily took the grocery bags from his hands as she went to put them towards the kitchen area while he was still standing taking the surroundings. "Blaine, can I get you something? Water, juice, coffee...?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine but thanks," Blaine, said looking at her after taking his eyes off from the beautiful chandelier in the living room.

"Very well. Why don't you sit here and let me get Sebastian for you? He was on the terrace when I left so..."

"Sure, no hurries."

Lily smiled at him before she left. Blaine stood up and looked around and was in awe of what he was seeing. The place was beautiful and looked straight out of some interior design magazine. He was sure that the furniture he was sitting on was custom made. The place showcased modern understated elegance and sophistication and had a certain charm to it without looking cold and detached like living in a museum. It didn't scream to be a bachelor pad but looked masculine enough.

As he was looking around he saw a small cat come out towards him, which he knelt down to pick. It was a cute white Persian cat with thick fluffy hair. As he was playing with the cat, he heard a door sliding open. When he looked up, he saw Lily returning with Sebastian and two people he didn't think he'd see today.

Hunter Clarington and Dave Karofsky were the last people he expected to find when he accompanied Lily upstairs. They looked different from the last he saw them in high school, all grown up and mature. But Blaine's attention was not on them.

Sebastian looked even more handsome than his pictures he saw last night on the Internet. He was wearing summer shorts and a tank top; a golden retriever was following him closely. He looked quite shocked and skeptical as he walked inside and stood in front of him. He didn't say anything so Blaine spoke first.

"Hi, Sebastian."


	3. Chapter 3

_"Hi Sebastian"_

There was a silence after he spoke as everybody waited for Sebastian to respond but Blaine could see a range of emotions passing across Sebastian's face. But he could see that he was the last person Sebastian expected to be standing in his home and he didn't look pleased to see him.

"Uh… um, I'm sorry. But I can't do this right now, I need to…" Sebastian said after a moment or two. He abruptly turned and briskly walked away without a look backward. His dog trailed after him and even the cat jumped from Blaine's hands to follow them.

"Sebastian, Sebastian, please… Bas… just listen to me once, I'm sorry… I…" Blaine shouted towards him to try to stop him but he didn't turn back.

"Blaine, let him go. I think he's surprised to see you here, I'd say even a bit shocked" he heard Hunter speaking.

"I just want to talk. I know I came all of a sudden but…" Blaine said looking down. He didn't hear more people entering the area, some of which he never thought he'd see in this setting.

"What are you doing here Hobbit?" Blaine looked up heard Santana asking as she walked with Brittany to the living room area. There were another man and a woman walking behind them who must have come out to see what the commotion was about. Blaine thought that he must've interrupted some kind of get together or brunch as everyone was dressed casually in summer clothes and slippers.

"Santana? Britt?" Blaine asked as he was astonished to see both of them in Sebastian's home. He didn't know that they were friends with him or that they kept contact with him.

"Hi, Blaine," Brittany said with a bit of smile while Santana looked like she was angry with him.

"Hi Britt, I didn't know you all were friends," Blaine said before he could stop himself.

"Hobbit, you didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?" Santana cut in before Brittany could say anything.

"Santana, I just wanted to meet Sebastian. Lily brought me with her, I don't want to cause any issue. I just want to talk to him," Blaine answered trying not to aggravate the situation.

"Well, it doesn't look like he wants to talk to you so I think you should go…" Santana replied.

"Santana please, I just need a couple of minutes…"

"Maybe I could go and talk to him and see what he wants to do," Brittany said trying to help him.

"Thanks, Britt"

"Don't thank her yet," Santana said cutting him again. Brittany gave Santana a look before she went towards the same direction Sebastian left in. everyone in the room was looking at each other and could feel the tension in it so Santana just smiled and sat on the chair near her.

"He's going to be so angry with me. I didn't know that Sebastian will react this way, I thought…" Lily said getting worried.

"It's fine Lily, it's not your fault. He won't be angry with you, you didn't know the whole story. So don't worry, okay?" Hunter told her before she got more worried.

"Okay then, excuse me, I'm going to put the grocery so if anybody needs anything, just call me" Lily replied a moment later and then she went towards the kitchen.

"While we're waiting for Britt, why don't we sit down and do some introductions. Hi, I'm Andrew, Dave's boyfriend" the man who introduced himself as Andrew said motioning everybody to sit. "I think you already know Dave, Hunter, Santana and this lovely lady here is Natasha, Hunter's fiancé," Andrew said once everybody sat down and introduced everyone.

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm also Sebastian's tour manager" Natasha said after shaking hands with Blaine.

"Nice to meet you too Natasha, Andrew, I'm Blaine" Blaine replied in kind.

"They know" Dave spoke for the first time after entering the living area. Blaine didn't know how to reply to that so he just nodded.

He still couldn't comprehend how they were all together here as they last time he saw Dave was when he visited him after his suicide attempt. At that time he wanted Kurt or so he thought and according to Sebastian, he had said something to Dave that might've pushed him to attempt suicide. How did they end up being friends was still a mystery to Blaine as Sebastian never told him that he was friends with Dave after that incident. And same with Santana, as last he heard, she wanted to go all Lima heights on Sebastian's ass back in high school and now they're all friends with him.

"Does your husband know that you are here, trying to talk to Sebastian?" Hunter asked interrupting Blaine's thought. He was surprised by that question as he thought Santana and Brittany must've kept them updated about stuff like that but maybe he thought wrong.

"I'm divorced now," he answered looking at Hunter.

"Oh, pity," Hunter said with the same smugness he last saw in him last time when he'd gotten Blaine to come back to Dalton for collecting the nationals trophy.

"So why exactly are you here," Dave asked before anybody else could say anything. Dave didn't accept his random meeting with Lily on the sidewalk. Blaine could either lie again to everybody or tell them the truth but he knew lying wouldn't help him with these people so he went with the truth.

"I heard that Sebastian moved here from one of the Warblers and I wanted to meet him. I wanted to talk to him so I tracked his address…"

"And how exactly did you find this address Blaine," Natasha asked interrupting him to which Blaine replied with embarrassment, "uh… The Internet."

"Really Hobbit, stalker much" Santana commented drily.

"It's not even a week and people can track his address," Dave said under his breath but Blaine had heard him.

"We all knew that this was going to happen so…" Andrew said trying to pacify his boyfriend.

"Yeah, but not this soon" Dave replied to him before he could finish.

Before anybody could say anything else, Brittany came back alone and went near Santana; she shook her head indicating that Sebastian had refused and didn't want to talk to Blaine. When Blaine had stepped out in the morning, he never thought this would happen. Maybe he was a bit too optimistic in thinking that if he saw Sebastian today, he'd at least get to say something more than just a 'hi' to him.

"As you can see that he doesn't want to talk to you so we can't help you there, I think it would be better for you to leave," Dave said finally.

"Hobbit, listen to me because I'll say this once. He doesn't want to talk to you, go back to your home; tomorrow I'll contact you and we'll talk about whatever you need but you're not getting time with him till he's ready to talk to you. And if you have any brain in your little hobbit head, don't contact him till he contacts you and no giving his address out if you know what's right for you. Got that, now leave" Santana told him in her true fashion.

"Guys please, you have to know that hurting him was never my intention. It wasn't in the past and it isn't now, I just wanted to talk. I tried so hard to contact him after graduation but he left so suddenly and deleted all his contacts so when I heard he was so near, I thought…" Blaine said trying to make them understand his motivations for coming here today.

"Blaine, this is his choice and we support him," Brittany told him

"I never knew you were all so close," Blaine said.

"You don't know a lot of things" Dave cut him before he could say anything else.

"Clearly"

"Now get in the elevator, we're going to take a ride downstairs" Dave stood up and motioned Blaine to move.

"You don't need to escort me, I'm going," Blaine told him.

"You're not that important, I've something to do," Dave said as the elevator doors opened. He motioned Blaine to get inside and then came inside the elevator. As they were going down, Blaine couldn't help himself but ask, "just answer one question for me"

"Since I'm in a good mood today, I will"

"How did you become friends with Sebastian" Blaine asked.

"He was there for me when nobody was" Dave replied.

"Thank you," Blaine said truthfully.

"Whatever, now leave and don't come back?" Dave told him.

As Blaine walked out of the elevator, he saw Dave watching him walk out of the building. Whether Dave said it or not, he was making sure Blaine didn't linger anymore and left the premises.

As he was walking back to the subway station, Blaine started thinking back to everything that happened today. He shouldn't have followed on his impulse to do what he did and he had only himself to blame for how things ended. Sebastian might've been one of his best friends at one time but that wasn't the case now; they hadn't talked for the last five years and a lot had changed since then.

A lot had changed since yesterday and he wished he had somebody to talk to and make sense of everything again. But all Blaine could do was to think about sitting in Riley's office previous evening.

 _"So, Blaine how was last month."_


	4. Chapter 4

**Previous evening**

"So, Blaine how was last month?" Riley asked starting the monthly session. She was Blaine's part-time therapist and full-time friend.

"It was uneventful at the very least, no run-ins with Kurt and I spent some time with my family. My brother is shooting his new movie in Vancouver so I went to visit him for few days and went to Ohio too to meet my parents" Blaine replied getting comfortable in his chair.

"And did you meet any of your friends from high school?"

"No, except for Sam and Puck, nobody else I knew is in Ohio anymore and my stay was very short so I didn't meet anyone else"

"That's good, and how do you feel about your trip," Riley asked knowing that Blaine's relationship with his family was not like it is now in the past.

A lot of Blaine's issues are and were stemmed from various misunderstandings and miscommunications with his parents and his elder brother. They had been working on those for past months even though his relationship with his family had already changed for the better even before that but his issues were still there.

Blaine told her smiling, "I had a good time with my brother, I've to say that one of the good things that Kurt did for me was to help me build back my relationship with my brother and now we are closer than ever. My parents were happy to see me for the short time I was there, I'm happy that we are like a family again and have moved past all the misunderstandings in the past."

"It's good Blaine that you accept both the good and bad parts of your ex-husband and your marriage even though it didn't end on a positive note," Riley remarked looking at him after writing something in her notes.

Blaine just replied shrugging, "it would be wrong of me to not give credit where it's due."

"And did you see Kurt's family as you told me you were close to them before the divorce," she asked.

"Yes, I did see Carole while I was getting coffee but that was a very short meeting and our relationship is not the same anymore. Kurt wasn't very truthful to them about everything and they still believe that I left him suddenly without any explanation or any cause" he told her.

"And why haven't you told them the truth, they certainly deserve to know" Riley questioned him.

"I wanted to…" Blaine said slowly looking down but then he looked back at Riley directly and added, "but I think they wouldn't believe me or still blame me or try to resolve things between us which I absolutely don't want to."

"I agree that it's not healthy for you to get together with Kurt but I still feel you they deserve to know the whole truth and not just their child's version of It. They're directly related to the situation like your parents are and they should know all the facts before making their opinions" she told him.

"I agree but I want to move on from all that and since I won't have any association with them in the future so its fine anyway," Blaine said looking away from her. He really didn't want to get into with the Hummels, as he knew it would result in more conflict and he already had enough for a lifetime.

"But is this something that you would suggest to your patient when you become a psychologist?" Riley asked leaning back in her chair looking at Blaine pointedly.

"I know it's not the best way to deal things" Blaine nodded agreeing with her and added, "but right now I really want to put everything Kurt-related in the past. Maybe in near future when I'm ready to face them again, I'll tell them everything but right now I don't…" Blaine said looking at the wall.

"Don't you think your tendency to bottle things up has led to all of this…?"

"Yes, I agree it has but I'm not bottling anything up now, I know the truth and I accept it fully. And whenever I will tell them, I already know how it will go down. It's just that I'm not ready for that and they don't look like they even want to" Blaine replied bitterly.

"That's because they really don't know the truth," Riley told him.

"Maybe, maybe not" Blaine shrugged.

"Okay, let's talk about your biggest regret in life till now, something you'd want to go back in time and change if you had the chance," Riley asked changing directions of the session.

"Why it's not like I'm getting a chance to do that," Blaine said flippantly.

"And if you got one then," she asked in a challenging manner.

"I'm pretty sure I won't be getting one but to humor you, I wish I never married Kurt that day. It was reckless, stupid, and impulsive and you know what, I actually wish I never proposed him in the first place. What was I thinking, proposing a man after cheating on him with another just because our relationship wasn't working and I was feeling alone? I make some stupid decisions but that took the cake on all" Blaine told her indignantly.

Riley was pretty shocked by Blaine's sudden outburst though she didn't show it on the outside. But she didn't want to talk about Kurt this time, "And if I may ask what is your biggest regret that isn't related to Kurt" she asked in her usual calm manner.

"Not giving someone else a chance to see where it would lead me," Blaine told her after a while looking at the Eiffel Tower figurine kept in the corner behind Riley.

"Any particular someone else?" Riley asked probing trying to find the story behind.

"No not really" Blaine replied immediately shaking his head.

"Are you sure because you look like you had somebody on your mind?" she prodded again.

"You know what, I feel like you know something that I don't," he said getting defensive.

"It doesn't matter what I know but what I really want to know is why haven't you tried to actually move on from Kurt," she told him. But clearly, Blaine needed the reason why Riley was pushing for an answer, "You have been separated from him for about a year now and divorced for almost half but you have yet to be in a relationship. You don't date and you aren't even trying so what are you really waiting for?"

"I thought we were going to work on my emotional dependency on others preferably my partners and now you're questioning me why am I not dating anybody," Blaine asked getting riled up a bit.

"Well to work on it fully you have to have a partner for more than a night" Riley shrugged.

"I'm not ready to date" Blaine stated bluntly.

"Why you're a good-looking fella with a lot of prospects, I'm pretty sure a lot of people hit on you when you go to any club so what are you really waiting for. Do you not get somebody your type?" Riley asked.

"No, that's not it"

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know," Blaine said evading.

"You know it, you just don't want to admit it. Though I shouldn't be giving you my opinion but here I'm going to do it because you're too stubborn to admit it but for that answer, my questions please, what is your type?" Riley asked.

"I don't have a type," Blaine said with a hint of annoyance.

"You have one so quit denying" Riley promptly replied not giving him room to wiggle out. She was done with Blaine's attempts to evade whatever he was trying to evade.

"How would you know and if you do then why are you asking me?"

"I just know and just humor me and be specific and give me reasons of why you want that in him," she said firmly.

"Fine" Blaine replied crossing his hands in front of him like a disgruntled toddler but then added a minute later, "Tall, preferably good hair, can sing, great sense of humor so that I can laugh with him all the time, sassy, intelligent so that we can have meaningful conversations together, has a beautiful smile that's just for me, someone who doesn't want to change me all the time I guess…"

"You know I asked you your type and you described your ideal man to me," she remarked.

Blaine just shrugged looking nowhere in particular, "Well my ideal man would have to be my type for him to be ideal."

"And the way you were describing him, I feel you had somebody in your mind who is the same person you regret not giving a chance to see where it would lead you and you compare everybody you meet with him and I can bet you even compared your husband with him when you were married to him" Riley said deducing.

"Fine I did, but its never going to work so can we work on making me stop comparing everyone I meet with him," Blaine said looking at her.

"Why do you think it won't work with him, have you even tried to find where he is right now. You are not in a relationship, maybe he isn't too so don't you owe yourself and him too to try once" Riley suggested.

"Oh, I would if I had a chance but I know that he's moved on already and he is so out of my league now that he's practically from another planet. There is no chance that I'll ever see him again and if we did ever meet, he won't even recognize me from all the new people he sees every day" Blaine told her.

"So he is somebody who is famous, meets new people every day I guess," she asked.

"Yes, he is," Blaine told her.

"Somebody, I know?" Riley implored trying to find who Blaine was talking about.

"I guess if you follow international singers" Blaine replied slowly.

"Ooh… is he famous?" Riley said getting a bit excited.

"Did you see this year's Grammy awards?" he asked casually.

"Yes I did, was he there?"

"He was there all right" Blaine replied almost scoffing.

"Uh… Blaine, are you talking about Sebastian Smythe" Riley said after thinking about the awards for a minute.

"Yes."

"So you are the man he thanked for breaking his heart then," Riley remarked thinking back to one of the numerous speech Sebastian gave that night.

Riley had been intrigued by all of Sebastian's speeches that night that she had actually gone on the internet to search for him. Riley didn't know a lot about him before that night, just listened to his music. But after that night, she had googled him and found a lot about him.

Blaine told her dismissing that notion, "No I'm not, I think he was talking about his first love or someone else he dated, and I mean we haven't talked to each other for I think five years or so."

"Are you sure about that?" Riley asked not agreeing with him.

"Yes I think so" Blaine didn't look that sure of himself now after the way Riley was looking at him.

"And how did you meet him, he is from London I think," she asked trying to understand how they could ever cross paths.

"He actually went to high school in Ohio for half of junior and whole senior year, he graduated from Dalton academy," Blaine told her.

"So you met him in high school, were you, two friends, did he know about Kurt and everything else?" Riley asked more like a friend than his psychologist.

"He knows everything about me, even the things Kurt doesn't and I don't know what we were back then. I guess the word is complicated" Blaine said a bit ruefully.

"Good complicated or bad complicated," Riley asked trying to understand.

"Just complicated, we didn't end on good terms. He stopped talking to me one day and cut off all contacts soon after, we never saw each other after his graduation and I found out from my Warbler friends that he left States the next day of graduation and never kept contact with anybody from Ohio, not even them" he told her.

"Do you think he was running from something?" Riley asked a few moments later putting her notes away for the time being. She was riveted by this new information and wanted to know more even though they had gotten diverted from their original topic for this session.

"He never liked coming to states, he hated the small town and its people and who wouldn't after living in London and Paris, but he was forced to come because of his parents. He was so focused on getting out of there that maybe he did want to run from there" Blaine told her with a bit of a smile looking at the Eiffel Tower figurine behind her.

"No, I was asking like he wanted to escape. If he wanted to leave he could have done that by keeping contact too" she told him.

"Maybe we weren't important enough to do that" Blaine replied with a hint of bitterness and a shrug.

"Or maybe he wanted a clean break to start again" Riley pointed after a beat with her own shrug.

"What are you saying," Blaine asked not getting what Riley was implying.

"Was he there for your proposal to Kurt?" she asked after a while.

"He was captain of Warblers so yes he was, so what?"

"And when did you propose to Kurt?" Riley replied with another question.

"The day before graduation," he told her.

"Is it possible that he had feelings for you more than friendship or even just a crush and the reason he left Ohio that way is that he was running from you and your relationship with Kurt and I'm pretty sure if it was that way then the man he was thanking is not who you think is" she said after some time trying to make Blaine see things from a different perspective.

"No, that's not possible, he never said anything. He wasn't ready for a relationship then and definitely didn't love me that way. He used to have so many men and women falling over him and he loved that, surely he pursued me but I was just another fuck to him, which he befriended to get that. He didn't love me, he loved somebody else already in Paris who he had to leave behind so you're wrong" Blaine replied vehemently not even entertaining the notion presented by Riley.

"Maybe I am but are you really sure about his feelings because you're really quick to justify and discredit his for someone who you thought could have a relationship with you, I mean there's no smoke without fire" Riley questioned.

"Why are we even talking about this, its all in the past and I'm not going to meet him anyway as he's on tour right now and he lives in London so what's the point of all this," Blaine said exasperatedly trying to get what Riley was pointing to.

Riley replied leaning back again and looking at Blaine pointedly, "The point is that you need to let go of the past and actually move on by start dating again. You say you have moved on but you don't go out to with an agenda to meet anybody new and if somebody does make a move, you shut it down so I'm trying to find what are you really waiting for, is it Sebastian?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Still previous evening**

 _"What are you really waiting for, is it Sebastian?"_

What Riley just asked shocked Blaine, but it was a genuinely good question. Now that he thought about it, he could see that Sebastian was always in the back of his mind one way or another during the course of his marriage not that Kurt ever let him ever forget Sebastian completely even though Kurt hated him. And once Sebastian became popular, his absence from Blaine's life became more prominent.

"You know when I caught Kurt cheating on me, the first person I wanted to tell was Sebastian because he always said that I was too good for Kurt and he'll never be what I deserve and I wanted to tell him that he was right all along. He was the only person who didn't have a negative reaction when I told him that I cheated on Kurt and he just said that he understood when I explained why I did it. When he stopped talking to me and left suddenly, it felt like a piece of me was taken away from me because I suddenly lost my best friend, my confidant and the only person who understood me completely at that time. I tried so hard to find him again but I couldn't and Kurt was on cloud nine when he came to know that Sebastian left the country and there were a thousand miles between us and I had no contact with him but Sebastian was still a bone of contention between us" Blaine told her letting a deep exhale out after finally opening up for the first time that night.

Riley was surprised to hear what Blaine just told her. The situation wasn't cut and dry like she imagined it to be. From what Blaine had opened to her about his marriage, she never thought that their issues were so old and deep-rooted. It was like there were three people in the relationship rather than two even though the third one wasn't even physically present.

And as much as Blaine denied that he didn't understand his or Sebastian's feelings, he obviously felt very deeply for another man and that was why his marriage could never be successful with his ex-husband. As Kurt clearly knew the connection between Sebastian and Blaine even though Blaine himself was blind to it.

"So Kurt was jealous of him?" Riley asked to clarify the dynamic between Blaine, Kurt, and Sebastian more.

"Oh he was much more than that, he hated everything that Sebastian was and is now. He was envious of his public persona, his wealth, his authority and his connection with me," he told her leaning back on the backrest of the chair he was sitting on.

Riley asked after adding some notes again, "and was he right in feeling jealous of your connection with Sebastian?"

"I guess he was as I never shared everything with him like I did with Sebastian so it's my fault too but then Kurt is not very easy to connect too, he likes to keep attention on him and be the more important person in the room," he told her after thinking about her question.

"And what about Sebastian? He's a celebrity now, and from what I know about him, he's always had a certain attitude to him. How was he different from Kurt that you were able to open up to him more in whatever short amount of time you did that you couldn't in years of your marriage" Riley asked after adding another thing to her notes.

Blaine just answered, "He is naturally the center of attention without even trying, and you can never keep your eyes off of him for more than a certain time. With Sebastian, you are in awe or you're jealous, either you love him or you hate him, there is no in between and that's what irked Kurt. People usually tend to positively react to Sebastian until he does something to make them act negatively towards him and he still wouldn't give a shit about what anybody thought of him whereas Kurt tries very hard for being accepted yet act like he doesn't care about anybody's opinion. So they both are an exact opposite of each other that way."

"Okay, But why did you share everything with Sebastian and not Kurt, you could have tried to do that with Kurt if you wanted?" Riley asked the same question again in a different way this time.

Blaine took a moment to think about what Riley asked this time and then answered, "Sebastian was just very easy to talk to despite his prickly attitude with others during high school, he was a great listener and observer but even a better friend. He didn't give his real opinions until you asked for them and they were never wrong if I look back now. He was much more worldly and nothing ever stuck to him but that didn't mean he didn't have any experience; his thoughts and opinions with everything were so precise and convincing that it made me feel very comfortable with him that I could share anything with him and he'd easily handle anything I threw at him."

He told her trying to make her understand more about his perspective, "he's very honest and you always know where you stand with him, there's never any doubt. He'd have made an exceptional lawyer as he always had a way with words and our interests were much more similar than Kurt's who is more into fashion, gossip and other girly stuff."

"So you're saying that it was easier with Sebastian because you had similar interests and Kurt doesn't" Riley commented.

"No, not at all. It's just that with Kurt, everything is always scheduled and has a purpose, we used to do the stuff he enjoyed more than what I did and our conversations were more gossip than anything else which gets old really fast. He never gave enough attention to the details, you know to read between lines whenever something was brought up. Every time I tried to bring my issues up with him, they'd get either dismissed or put on a back burner with some activity that he liked. He never really tried to probe and prod till I opened up as his issues were always bigger than mine, he was always the one with something or the other going" he told her why he never opened up to Kurt.

"And what about Sebastian?" she prompted him.

Blaine took some time to think and then replied looking at the Eiffel Tower figurine again, "I think it was because our interests were similar so when we used to spend time together, conversations inclined to easily flow and since there were no judgments, I could talk about anything in the world and he'd listen. He has this uncanny ability to read everybody like he kind of knows what's going inside your mind and I'd just open up. Like I already told you, he was a great listener and an observer so he was always able to get me to talk about the heavy stuff."

"So if that was the case then why didn't you tried to break things off with Kurt and try with Sebastian, you said that he pursued you and you both worked well together so why not try to see where that leads you" Riley finally asked the question of the night.

Blaine snapped his eyes back at her again and then looked down at his hands for a while thinking. He was silent for minutes before he finally spoke, "I was so wrapped up in Kurt and the security that he provided back then in our relationship that I never thought about taking a chance with Sebastian even when I wasn't in a relationship with Kurt. Sometimes when I thought about it, I stopped myself from getting ahead thinking that it could never be any more than what it already was because Sebastian could never give me what I want in a relationship. I always used to compare them and at that time I felt Kurt was the better choice as he was my first love, my fairytale, my soul mate so I thought whatever I felt for Sebastian was only short term and won't lead anywhere."

"And did Sebastian do something to make you feel that way?" she asked trying to understand more about Blaine's thought process at that time.

"No, not exactly but we never had a conventional friendship if you want to call it something" Blaine replied looking up this time.

"Why? describe it to me, everything that happened when he came into your life," she asked to get the whole story.

Blaine decided to look at the Eiffel Tower figurine again as if it was like a connection to Sebastian himself and started talking, "When I met Sebastian, I was already in relationship with Kurt but he didn't care as he openly flirted with me and I heard that he had a lot of conquests regularly so I never gave his offers much thought. I'll admit that I was really attracted to him, his attention and compliments made me feel good about myself but we just became friends but then something happened and I was angry and felt betrayed by him but soon he apologized and we became friends again but I still kept my distance, which he kind of respected in his own way. After that, you already know about Kurt's move to New York, my abandonment issues, cheating and the consequent confession and break up."

Riley just nodded so Blaine got back to his story, "I didn't know what to do after that so I kind of started drinking and one day I found Sebastian in the local gay bar where I told him about what happened and we talked really for the first time since we became friends again. We started spending time together, playing sports, hanging out, going to concerts, movies, clubbing and then one day we slept with each other after a night of drinking and I thought, here goes our friendship down the drain now that he got into my pants but that didn't happen. We still did things but kept sleeping with each other when I said that we'd keep it casual and were allowed to see other people, as that's what I wanted at that time and Sebastian didn't do serious. Kurt was always in the back of my mind as I wanted to get back with him and when he said that he would give me a second chance, I accepted and soon Sebastian ended things. Later he asked me not to contact him again and then he left after graduation."

There was a silence in the room once Blaine stopped talking. Riley could see Blaine was really emotional now and almost had tears welled up in his eyes so she gave him time to compose himself meanwhile she added to her notes but after a while, she asked, "Will you classify the time you spent with Sebastian after breaking up with Kurt as dating?"

Blaine replied thinking back, "I'm not sure, we were allowed to see other people so maybe an open relationship. We never said that we were dating even between ourselves, nobody knew we were sleeping with each other and we didn't go on dates."

"So what did you call going to movies, concerts, clubs etc., it's what people do when they date and sleep together," Riley asked pointing the obvious to him.

"But usually there were others accompanying us and we were friends hanging out together"

"I think he wouldn't agree with your opinion, I think in my opinion he felt more for you than you think and now since our time is up, I want you to think about everything that happened with Sebastian and try to let him go if you think you don't have a chance with him anymore" she told him looking at the clock on the wall.

"I will do that but I don't think… no, I know that I don't have a chance with him anymore. He lives a thousand miles away and he is so popular now that he could get anybody he wants" Blaine replied to her, but then added, "I may have had a chance when we were in high school, even college but now there is none."

"Maybe, maybe not" Riley just shrugged using Blaine's words against him.

"Then you are being very optimistic for a person who deals with others people's shit on a daily basis" Blaine replied chuckling at her antic.

"And you are being a little judgmental now" Riley replied pointing and narrowing her eyes at him.

"Nope, calling it like it is and I'll be leaving now" Blaine smiled getting up from the chair and moving towards the door.

"Just one last question," Riley said, making Blaine stop in his tracks.

"What, didn't have enough?" Blaine asked turning back to her and smiling.

Riley just shook her head and asked, "Why did you keep on looking at my Eiffel tower figurine every time we talked about Sebastian?"

"That's because he's part French and we talked a lot about Paris when we first met. It always reminds me of him" Blaine replied.

"I was guessing that's why. Good night and do think about what we talked today and we'll meet again next time if not sooner" she said giving him a hug and closing the door.

As Blaine was walking back to his apartment after leaving Riley's office, he decided to get some food to go since he wasn't feeling like cooking after the session that he just had. He entered the diner near his apartment and placed his order. While he was waiting for his food to get packed, he thought back about the last time he saw Sebastian in front of him.

It was the day he proposed Kurt and the last day he had any contact with Sebastian. It was the last time he hugged him before he made one of his biggest mistakes of proposing Kurt. If what Riley tried to tell him was right then he could only imagine how hard it must have been for Sebastian to help him propose to Kurt and he did it smiling. Blaine could only think what an utter fool he was at that time. He was so oblivious to anything that wasn't Kurt related at that time that he didn't see how it was hurting somebody else too. He remembered his last phone conversation with Sebastian.

 _"Hello?" Sebastian had picked up the phone almost instantly._

 _"Hey," Blaine swallowed hard. "Please don't hang up."_

 _Sebastian sighed, "Blaine, is this important?"_

 _Blaine closed his eyes tightly, making his way to his room. "I just wanted to hear your voice," he swallowed again, his voice breaking. "I'm so sorry… about everything. I'm sorry that I hurt you… I just wanted to hear your voice, Sebastian… I just wanted to hear from you once…" Blaine shuddered as he heard Sebastian exhale sharply._

 _"Blaine, I told you earlier…"_

 _"I know… I know you want to move on and that I should too, but I can't…" he leaned up against his desk. "I can't do that without knowing that you are going to be ok. I need you… I need you, Sebastian… to tell me that everything will be ok"_

 _It took a while for Sebastian to respond. "Yes, it will be ok, you will graduate and become whatever that is you want to become and you will marry the love of your life and have a bunch of babies, and I will also graduate and be the lawyer that my parents will be proud of. But for all that to happen you need to forget me because we are just toxic to each other. Not everything is supposed to become something beautiful and long-lasting" Sebastian's voice was breaking slightly, Blaine's could feel his heart cracking in two as he heard him inhale sharply, swallow quietly. "You have no idea how much I wish we could erase everything and I wish we could go back to us, but there is no us anymore because it never was. We're not Blaine and Sebastian… we're Blaine and that guy that he had sex with…"_

 _"You're more than that…"_

 _"Am I?" Sebastian laughed sarcastically. "How would you treat me if I was less? Because I know everyone thinks that I'm just a slut who doesn't have feelings…"_

 _"That's not true. I don't think that…" Blaine felt the first tear fall down his cheek. "When I see you I see someone who is a great friend. You're not just someone who likes to tear people down… you're worth so much more than that… you matter, Sebastian. You mean the world to me…"_

 _Sebastian took another deep breath. "I have to go, Blaine. Don't contact me again and move on from me."_

 _"Sebastian…" he was faced with silence as Sebastian had hung up. He threw the phone on the opposite wall._


	6. Chapter 6

**Still previous evening**

Looking back Blaine should have realized that there was a lot more going on than what he saw or didn't see. There was a real raw pain in Sebastian's voice that day and Blaine was an idiot for making it about himself again in his alcoholic haze. Even though it must have hurt a lot to Sebastian, he still tried to make it easier for him and what did he get in return. A giant slap in the face that was his proposal to Kurt which he took part in with grace.

He should have understood that Sebastian had feelings for him that were deeper than friendship or even crush though he may have never confessed them to his face. Now that he reminiscing he could see how he turned blind eye to anything that Sebastian did to show how he felt about him. He basically ignored it or dismissed any romantic notion between them trying to keep it strictly casual. He thought about that day when he saw Sebastian weeks after Valentine's Day and he felt ashamed of how he handled everything.

 _"Hey," Blaine looked down at Sebastian watching as Sebastian looked up at him, still drinking from his cup. "Haven't seen you around lately."_

 _Sebastian swallowed his mouthful of drink, "Yeah, I've been really busy..."_

 _"Doing what, you haven't been returning my calls and I haven't seen you online"_

 _"I thought that it will be in best interest of everybody involved if we don't contact each other Blaine, I am sure your boyfriend would not like if he knew you are trying to contact me after everything"_

 _"Sebastian..."_

 _"I get it, Blaine. You like him more than me, he is back to being your boyfriend. For some reason that I may never understand, you love him and you are happy with him so just leave me alone and go be happy with him. I won't come between you two ever again." Sebastian grabbed his drink, licking the rim before bringing it to his lips._

 _"Sebastian..." Blaine watched as he brought the glass to his lips, taking a short sip. "I know that I hurt you..."_

 _Sebastian swallowed hard, closing his eyes. "Yeah and I'll get over it but I can't put my life on hold for you. I'm not going to pursue you anymore. You made it quite clear how you feel about me when you jumped in Kurt's arms just after leaving my bed."_

 _"Sebastian... I... I know that it's confusing right now... but however confusing it is for you, it was_ _thousand times more confusing for me. I love him and what he represents in my life. What you may feel for me is just going to fade away over time and someday we will laugh looking back at all of this. You will find somebody worthy of you and you will understand what I feel for Kurt then."_

 _"Well, then I suggest you let me get over whatever it is you think I feel for you in peace without trying to be in my life anymore. Go live your life as if I never existed and I will try to do the same" Sebastian said getting up and leaving without a second glance._

Blaine used to pride himself on being the best friend to everybody and handling everything delicately but he never made the best decisions in regards to Sebastian and now he was suffering the consequences. Sebastian was not in his life even as a friend, and he was sure if he ever met him, he wouldn't give him a second glance even if he remembered him and for that only he was to blame.

How he wished he could tell the 17-year-old him that he should cherish what is front of him than running madly after what wasn't. Now he could only dream how different his life would've been if he'd stayed with Sebastian on that Valentine's Day than going to the wedding and Kurt. It was one another 'what if' he had to live with.

The lady at the counter called his name indicating that his order was ready. He paid for it and as he was leaving the diner, Sebastian's song on the radio came and it brought a smile to his face. As he was walking to his building he thought, though Sebastian was the last person he'd pick from high school to become an international singing sensation, his music really showed his talent. Not only he had some really strong vocals, but also his songwriting skills were great and all the awards and accolades he'd already won were the sign of it.

Even though Blaine had yet to see any of Sebastian's concert Live but from all the videos he saw on YouTube and his friends showed he could see that Sebastian still played his audience just like he used to back in high school. Sebastian had mastered his art and became a much better performer since high school. There was no doubt in Blaine's mind that in coming years, Sebastian will be the one watch out as his fandom was growing exponentially and he hasn't even completed his first world tour. Even though he was upfront about his sexuality from the start, girls still were crazy about him and so were the boys, which he found about from Trent who was a major fanboy much to everybody's shock and amusement. Trent used to be one of the anti-Sebastian squad back in high school but when he saw him on SNL, it was a complete fanboy moment. All the Warblers had a field day with that but it was all in the fun as everybody was proud of what Sebastian had achieved and it was every bit deserved for all the talent he had.

As he was taking quite a trip down the memory lane, he remembered about one of the parties at Thad's back in high school where they were giving titles to everyone while drinking after a game. Sebastian was given the title of 'most likely to dominate the world' and somehow he was doing just that by his music and the world tour promoting his new album.

Soon Blaine reached his apartment and he got inside and locked up for the night. He decided to get comfortable and eat his food while checking his phone and replying to emails that he may have got. Once he was done with dinner, he opened his research work for his doctorate degree and started to work on it. It was his only focus, as he wanted to complete it as soon as possible and start practicing as a psychologist himself like Riley. Riley was his senior and one of the first people he met when he started his doctorate course.

Though a lot of people thought he would go to NYADA or any other performing arts school and pursue a career in the entertainment sector; he always treated music and performing as a release. They were his hobby and though he had a talent for it, he had a true passion for helping people. He wanted to help children especially like him who were dealt a rough hand while growing up.

Blaine had the highest regard for his therapist who helped him deal with his attack after the Sadie Hawkins's dance and he wanted to make a similar change in lives of children who needed help to deal with issues that they face every day. High school had taught him how vicious children can be and it's so easy to loose vision of yourself because of social expectations and pressure. Dave's suicide attempt had truly taught him that even the people who are thought invincible crumble under harsh words and pressure. Though it's said that actions are more powerful than words but well-placed words are just as powerful for a person who is already on the edge.

He put some music, opened some beer, and delved into his thesis work and research paper with the plan to continue working till late night. His decision to go to Columbia for college had brought immense joy to his parents and family and a lot of anger and fight from Kurt. He couldn't understand why Blaine would want to go to study at another college when he was selected for NYADA in the first try unlike Kurt himself. Apparently, Kurt had made plans for them to be the NYADA's gay power couple and he didn't handle Blaine going to a different college despite living in the same city with him. He did everything to change Blaine's mind from bargaining to blackmailing but he had already made up his mind.

He thought that it should've been his first clue how unhealthy their relationship was and how wrong they were for each other. But instead of breaking off their engagement, he worked harder to fulfill Kurt's expectations as he played on his guilt. They were never good for each other because if he had loved Kurt as much as he thought he did, he wouldn't have cheated on him at the first place no matter how he felt at that time. They were never secure in their love, it was more about their fantasies and they tried to compensate their insecurities in the relationship by taking it to the next level, first with the engagement proposal and then with the last minute double- wedding.

Even though he was happy for Brittany and Santana but sometimes he felt jealous of them for everything they had together. They were happily married and still in love with each other and very much the best friends they always were. He hoped someday he could find love again now that he had matured and seen the world.

It was half past 8 when Blaine glanced towards his phone going off a couple of times, it was series of messages from Wes and Jeff to get on his New York Warblers messaging group as soon as possible. Seeing that, he immediately went to the chat and saw Trent going off about something happening finally which was the only thing he could understand from Trent's ramblings. If he had to guess then maybe David finally proposed him or something like that but it could be anybody's guess.

Beat: I'm here.

Nathan: Yeah me 2 tho I cnt be on for long, on shift 2nite.

Trent: Sorry Nathan, this is more for our graduating class so u & Wes can go if u want but is everybody else online? This shit's important.

 _Nathan is offline_.

Wes: yes Trent, everybody's on, & it's fine by me.

Thad: what is it, Trent? I'm on a date so kindly get on with it before Quinn comes back from ladies' room.

Blaine: Hi guys, what is Trent rambling about. Is everybody all right?

Nick: Hi Blaine, we don't know yet but I think everyone's fine if they're online. We all are waiting for Trent to stop dawdling & tell everyone what's so important.

Trent: Hey guys, sorry for being a bit pushy but check this link out & I'm 100% sure u'd understand everything. Do it now, please

Beat: I hope it's not another cat video.

Thad: I swear to god Trent if it's another cat video, I'll stop replying to you from now.

Jeff: Ha ha ha... maybe David proposed him.

David: Don't worry guys, it's really something you should check out, & no it's not one of us proposing to another.

Thad: fine.

Blaine went back to the message where Trent had sent some links and opened the first one. It was a link to the Ellen show and it looked liked it was the latest episode.

 _"Today on our show we have a special guest whose debut album has taken the world by storm, we all fell in love with his crazy beautiful voice and my wife is obsessed with his album so much so we hear it almost every day. Let's welcome incredibly talented Sebastian Smythe" Ellen announced._

 _"Welcome, Sebastian. You look great, Dapper as usual" Ellen said smiling._

 _"Thank you, Ellen. You look beautiful too."_

 _Ellen laughed and said, "You know Portia is quite irritated with both of us that we scheduled your appearance here when she couldn't meet you by any chance. I think you are flying back tonight so you'll need to make it up to her next time you meet her."_

 _"Oh I already talked to her just now and we are cool. Now it's just you, she has an issue with. I told her that this was no way my fault and it's all on you. I even got her something" Sebastian smirked sitting down and pointing at her cheekily making everybody laugh._

 _"I think she'll love whatever you got her. So we all know that your tour is going on and you will be in Australia by the end of June for about a month and then to Asia. It has been a wild ride for you since you started huh?"_

 _"Yeah...I'll be in Australia from the 20th May and then in Asia. Then I'll be going to Europe so I can perform in the cities that I haven't been able to last year. And then back in States to perform on the east coast. I'll be ending the tour by August in Madison Square Garden, New York" Sebastian told her recounting._

 _"Congratulations on having such a success and best wishes from all of us for your future journey and those of you who haven't been to his concerts yet, please do, they are phenomenal." She turned back and looked towards Sebastian and said, "Just remember that it'll be really hot in Asia and winter in Australia."_

 _"Thank you. I am actually not looking forward to that. All I am trying to imagine about is beaches sand, surfing though I don't know how to yet. But I'm weirdly excited about Australian winter because I hear it's really pleasant and not too harsh" he said wistfully._

 _"The beaches in Australia are beautiful so I think you'll enjoy that a lot but we came to know that you moved to New York City just a couple of days ago, is that right?" she asked._

 _"Yes, it is, just moved fully this week."_

 _"Why the sudden move, I mean you were living in London..."_

 _"Actually there is more than one reason to it but I'll tell you the most logical one; I didn't own a home before in a sense so I felt I should get one now. My postal address for almost all purposes was my friend's address because I've been traveling for a couple of years now so there was no point of getting a home at that time."_

 _"you didn't have a home?"_

 _"See, after college ended, I decided to take a gap year so I put up all my stuff in storage barring the essentials and started traveling. I was basically living out of suitcase and had decided to do so for a whole year. I was in different countries almost every week and then this music thing happened all of a sudden in a way. And then I started touring so..."_

 _"And where did you spend your holidays, Christmas and stuff..."_

 _"I have a lot of family and friends all over the world now so I basically call whoever is nearest and go to their place. In a weird sense, I feel like a third culture kid who doesn't know where he belongs anymore"_

 _"But why New York, in particular, I mean you could've moved to LA, near us you know," she said laughing._

 _"New York because my friends are there and I was thinking of going college there but then decided to go to Oxford so now, I felt like why not,"_ _he told her casually._

 _"Just imagine how your life would have been if you would have gone to New York, for college. Totally different huh?"_

 _"Yeah, just last night I was talking to somebody about this and I came to the conclusion that I'd be either in law school right now or dropped out of college to travel the world."_

 _"The latter you're doing right now with a bunch of other things. And have you had any inputs in designing and decorating your place because the pictures I saw before you came on were beautiful"_

 _"There are a lot of decorative pieces that have been used are collected over the time during my travels, it's something I like to do. But the whole place is designed and decorated by my grandmother who does it professionally."_

 _"So who picked the colors and drapes...?"_

 _"I had the final choice but she used to give me options over everything. But now at the end of this project, I feel like I could have a career in designing and decor. I had dreams about swatches and texture and God knows what..."_

 _"I know, when I first started doing this for my first house, I couldn't stop myself. I've changed so many houses now because I love it so much"_

 _"I don't think I'll be doing that but the amount of knowledge that I've of decor now, I could definitely write a book."_

 _"I did, maybe you should do it after your tour ends..."_

 _"Maybe, let's see..."_

 _"So your new single is coming out this month. Tell us about it" she asked._

 _"My new single is coming out on 25th of this month. There will be a music video accompanying it so check that out"_

 _"That's amazing and we all be eagerly waiting for it. And have you started working on the follow- up album?"_

 _"I have written some stuff as I keep on writing almost all the time now. Everything is not gonna make the cut but I won't be releasing my next till the end of next year. I need a break, relax and experience life like a normal 22-year-old so that I can write about it. Basically, I need to kiss some boys, maybe have an affair or something so that I can write all about it..." he said laughing._

 _"You do that and we will wait to hear you again but for now, since you have a new house I have a gift for you that you can use to chill out in the sun, write some songs and relax" she stood up and started moving towards the panels behind which the gift was._

 _"Oh, Ellen..." Sebastian said following her._

 _"This is for you, go on try it, and here is an overhead umbrella, a piano, drinks for you to enjoy; if you open this, you can recline. Now you can lounge in the sun in your terrace and get some sun while working" she said opening the latch of the recliner._

 _"This is amazing... thank you, Ellen. Your gifts are always so great" he said laughing and trying the piano attached._

 _"You enjoy this and we'll come back from break and listen you sing your latest single then," she announced._

A lot of things were going on in Blaine's mind after and during the whole interview video. He was feeling a plethora of emotions but the most prominent were happiness and the shock from this sudden turn of events.


	7. Chapter 7

**Still previous evening**

Just this evening, Blaine was thinking how Sebastian was unreachable to him and now he learned that he had moved to his city. He could only imagine how the others were reacting to this so he went back to the group chat.

Nick: he's here, he's in the fucking city.

Jeff: & he's gonna live here, I think I'm freaking out a bit now.

Trent: C I told u all that it's something u'll like, so what now? & U n me both Jeff.

David: he literally squealed like a girl when he first saw the video and then replayed it just to see if he heard it right.

Wes: I think somebody should contact him.

Thad: Shit, I never expected this when I opened that link Trent but I agree with Wes, somebody should contact him.

Nick: Guys, where did Blaine go? Blaine?

Blaine: Yeah, I'm here.

Jeff: did you see the video?

Blaine: yes, twice. What's the plan now?

Thad: I think we should decide that on the weekly brunch on Sunday.

Wes: I agree with Thad, this isn't the best way to decide things of this nature.

Jeff: okay but I'm so happy that he's back.

Nick: me too, though he may not think he was important but he was really missed.

Thad: Yeah, you're right Nick.

Trent: check his performance video on the show. He totally nailed it out of the park.

David: yes he did, nobody ever thought that Sebastian would be the one who'd become multiple Grammy-winning, singer-songwriter.

Wes: Blaine? Are you okay?

Blaine: yes, I'm fine. It's just so surreal as I never thought he'd ever move back to states.

Trent: nobody knew about this apart from his family & record label as there was no news about this, it's a surprise to all of his fans.

Nick: he's so different from the boy we knew back in high school.

Wes: we all have changed since then & I guess so has he even though I never knew him like you all did.

Blaine: guys, I'm going offline. I'm doing some important research work this weekend so I'll talk to everybody later, goodnight all.

And then Blaine left the conversation to try to make sense of what he just saw in the last 15 minutes. But first, he decided to watch the performance video as he clicked open the link to it.

 _Ellen announced with an album in her hand, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Sebastian Smythe singing 'Play Pretend' his latest single from the album 'Between the lines' and everyone is going home with a copy of it in the audience today."_

 _The panels opened and there was Sebastian on the mic standing in front of the piano and the orchestra._

It was an unquestionably beautiful performance and Sebastian sounded even better than on his album. The vocals were on point and piano accompaniment worked so beautifully with it. But now that he had talked with Riley today, he felt like those lyrics were maybe written about him in a way.

 _If there's anything I know_

 _It's how to play pretend_

 _But when I'm around you_

 _I can't help but feel like you know_

 _All these different feelings I feel about you_

 _If there's anything I know_

 _It's how to play pretend_

Maybe Sebastian did feel more for him but could never say anything. Maybe it was because Blaine never ever gave him a chance to say anything but his lyrics were definitely saying a lot right now.

 _But I'm not sure if you feel the same way_

 _You see because I don't want to lose you_

 _As a friend, no_

 _So I'm just gonna play pretend_

Blaine decided that he didn't want work on his research work anymore since he was feeling a lot of things. The session with Riley and then seeing Sebastian and his news about moving to New York had brought a lot of things in the front of his mind.

After not having contact with Sebastian for so long, he had put him in the back but he was always there in a way. But listening to him sing and then those questions that Riley put up were making him question a lot of things now. One of the most prominent among others was if he was really the one who broke Sebastian Smythe's, heart. Did he really drive Sebastian to the point where he wrote songs about him? And if he did, then Blaine had to apologize him in some way. He had to tell Sebastian that he was a fool to let him go and chase after a fantasy rather than cherishing what was in front of him all those years ago. He had basically cheated on Sebastian in a way by going back to Kurt without telling him and all he could think about how wrong that decision was. Blaine decided to open up some wine and put on Sebastian's album instead of doing any more college work. He wanted to hear it again and see if his assumptions were correct or not. So he put it on the speaker and sat down with his glass of wine and the bottle too.

As he heard one song after another and even replayed some, he came to the conclusion that there were undeniably high chances that they were about his and Sebastian's relationship. It didn't matter that it happened a few years ago; the album felt like as if he had a peek into Sebastian's mind during that time. His songs 'Friends' and 'Not in that way' felt like they described how he might've felt about their friends with benefits situation. He put 'may' in his thoughts because there was a chance that it wasn't about him but now that he had heard the whole album twice, he kind of felt that there was no 'may' needed.

He was finishing his bottle of wine and had basically put the album on repeat while he was thinking when he suddenly got the idea of finding where exactly in New York had Sebastian moved to. Manhattan was the first place that came in his mind but then he decided to go on the Internet and do some digging of his own. He wanted to learn this before anybody told him and so he went on his laptop and started searching.

Blaine had to commend the reach of social media, paparazzi and Sebastian's fans who had basically provided him with his address. Sebastian had moved to an apartment in Tribeca and the building was newly built and it wasn't even fully occupied. He could only imagine how much it must've cost him to live there because they unoccupied apartments according to the website were going for several million.

As Blaine polished off the bottle, he decided that he'd wake up and try to meet Sebastian the next morning. In his alcoholic haze, he didn't comprehend how his actions could come across to anybody else but Blaine just wanted to speak to Sebastian now more than ever. He wanted forgiveness for his actions in the past and more than that he wanted his friend back.

Even when he woke up the next day, he was a bit hungover but he remembered what he did and decided last night. Now that he was thinking clearly, he thought about his decision once again but then finally decided not to wait anymore. The worst-case scenario was that Sebastian would close the door on his face but at least he'd see him once which he thought was still better than waiting and letting anybody else contact him.

So he took a shower, got ready, took his phone and wallet, and went out on his little adventure. As he sat in the subway to Tribeca, he remembered one of the conversations that he had with Sebastian while they spent their day at the frozen Lima Lake back when they were in high school. They had spent the whole day playing in the snow and had a blast while having a snow fight. It was just the two of them and nobody knew they were spending time together, neither their family nor their friends. After a whole day playing, Blaine had finally convinced Sebastian to make snow angels with him after bribing him with the promise of hot chocolate after the activity.

 _"What do you want from your life, Sebastian?" Blaine asked looking to his side where Sebastian was laying in the snow. He thought he'd get some funny answer like endless sex or something but this one of the time where Sebastian surprised him again._

 _"I don't know, I mean all I know is that I want everything. I'm not talking about marriage and job and kids, the American dream as you people say…"_

 _"What's wrong with it, I think it's a great dream," Blaine asked now balancing his head on his elbow still lying in the snow._

 _"There's nothing particularly wrong about it but I don't think it's for me. I mean I want to keep on moving and changing all the time, I want to run, I want to fly even, but one thing I don't want to do is to stop. I want to see the whole world, experience everything that it has to offer and keep on doing it" Sebastian answered still looking at the sky._

 _"What about settling down, having your own family," Blaine questioned._

 _"Maybe I'll do that when there is somebody worthy of doing it with," Sebastian said after a while shrugging._

 _"So you do want the good old American dream," Blaine concluded._

 _"Not necessarily but I'm not opposed to it. I don't believe you've to get married to show that you love somebody, you just do and if you love somebody that much, you become their family so you don't necessarily need to have children to prove your love and increase the global population."_

Looking back, Sebastian might've been wrong about a few things but one thing he said was right that you didn't need elaborate proposals or even a promise of marriage to show and prove that you love somebody, you just did. If only Blaine heeded his words when he thought of proposing Kurt, he wouldn't have made a mess of his life.

He was absolutely grateful for the fact now that he had refused Kurt in bringing a child in the midst of their dysfunctional marriage, as that would've truly messed up things. If there was a kid in the equation, he couldn't even imagine where they would be now. But now wasn't the time to think about stuff like that, he had to come up with some kind of game plan as to how he'll approach Sebastian without getting cops called on his ass or getting publicly humiliated.

 **Back to present day**

Blaine thought that though he managed in not getting arrested by the cops and getting publicly humiliated though he hadn't able to say what he wanted to Sebastian. Sebastian didn't even give him a chance to speak more than two words and he walked away without a look backward. Blaine had damaged their friendship so beyond repair that the other man didn't even want to see his face again.

He thought back to the interview video he had seen last night where Sebastian had said that he had decided to go to New York for college at first but changed his mind later.

The only reason Blaine could think for this change was that Sebastian did that so he wouldn't have to see Blaine every day in college. They both had talked about Columbia at lengths without hinting it as their first preference for college.

Blaine had wanted to make an informed decision about going to college so he had talked to basically everybody he knew about his options. He didn't want to confine himself in NYADA studying only performing arts so he had filled for a lot of colleges in New York and near it. Surely he liked performing, loved it even but he didn't want to make it the only thing he did in his life. He wanted to change lives at the grass root level and Broadway was never his dream, it was something he liked and became obsessed about when he started spending time with Kurt and Rachel.

Blaine wanted to help children like Mr. Schue; his therapist and school counselor did for him and the kids at McKinley. After the Sadie Hawkins incident, he hated how hollow he felt for some time, constantly keeping himself in check, trying to shrink himself inside so he became invisible enough that nobody could see him. It had been a very hard time for those months after the attack but then he joined Dalton, met Wes and the Warblers who made him feel safe and okay for the first time in months. Of course, he didn't magically heal but he had his first crack in the ceiling. Then with the help of his Warbler friends and school counselor he made the journey of becoming the Dalton legend, Blaine Warbler. It wasn't an easy road but he knew he couldn't have done it without external help and that is why he decided to pursue his higher education in psychology so that maybe he could help another child like him.

As he was sitting on the subway on his journey back home, he thought about his actions since last night. What he had done wasn't healthy in any way, if he was a psychologist, he'd have a field day with his patient. He had basically stalked somebody, entered their home by manipulation in a sense, and then tried to force them into having a conversation with him. If Riley could see him right now, she'd shout at him for ten minutes straight but he had been desperate. He didn't want to wait till August to try to talk to Sebastian after his world tour. Blaine knew that he took a chance on meeting him today, which worked by some miracle, but it ended disastrously. What was Sebastian thinking of him?

Now he could only wait for Santana and Britt to contact him as Santana suggested earlier but he didn't hold any high hope about the meeting. He could see that if push came to shove, Santana would side with Sebastian, as would Brittany from the way they behaved in front of him, not that he was asking him to choose sides. He was happy to see that Sebastian had made such friends who were ready to fight for him and he deserved that. Blaine used to sometimes get worried about Sebastian and his 'angry at the world' attitude but he was elated to see that Sebastian had let some people in now even though Blaine himself was out.

Blaine could only imagine how Santana and Sebastian had become friends because that would sure be a story to tell. He also noticed that not only all the people present at Sebastian's house were friends with him but they were friends with each other too. He knew Dave and Santana used to be each other's beards in McKinley but he didn't know how Hunter became part of the group. Last he heard about Hunter was that he had left like Sebastian after graduation and hadn't kept in touch with anybody from the Warblers. They just knew that both Sebastian and Hunter were going to Oxford for college, which they found out during the graduation ceremony and nothing else.

He didn't know what had happened in Dalton after his impromptu performance with Warblers when Hunter had gotten him to come there to collect National's trophy. He had kept his distance from there so that he didn't raise anybody's hope in getting him back and so that he himself wouldn't feel guilty. Blaine was genuinely moved after singing 'Dark Side' with his boys and had even decided to come back. But then Sam and other New Directioners tried to change his mind and somehow Kurt heard about what went down. Kurt had given him an ultimatum in no specific words that if he ever went back to Dalton and Sebastian, he'd lose any chance of reconciling with him. So then Blaine made another bad decision and cut his ties with Dalton in a sense.

But nobody cuts ties with Sebastian; he's the one who decides who stays or goes. So, when he saw Blaine one day at Scandals, he got him to talk about what was going through Blaine's mind over a steady stream of alcohol. Since he never liked Kurt so Sebastian said that he didn't care what Lady Hummel thought and he advised to Blaine.

 _"You know Killer, I don't know who died and made Lady Hummel the queen but let me tell you, and he's no saint either. I don't understand you boring couples nor do I want to but one thing I know from my assholic days that blackmailing isn't the way to go. Didn't you learn from my experience with young Barbra Streisand?"_

Blaine had gone to Scandals in hope to feel not like himself for a few hours. He still had the fake-id Sebastian had provided him after Kurt had accepted Sebastian's invitation to go drinking to the local gay bar. He hadn't thought he'd find Sebastian dancing there but it was definitely a welcome surprise.

Sebastian had come back to the bartender to get something to drink and found Blaine watching him. Sebastian had looked pretty different since his last time he was dressed well. He was wearing a button-down shirt and great jeans, no popped collars in sight. If Blaine didn't know any better, he'd say Sebastian was dressed for a date in a fancy restaurant. Later he got to know that he was dressed like that for a dinner with his dad, which his dad skipped from again so Sebastian decided to come to Scandals.

Sebastian was happy to see Blaine again after that day at Dalton but was equally surprised to find him at Scandals drinking alone. He started talking to him like nothing ever happened between then and they were buddies for a long time. Blaine liked the attention and acceptance with questions he always got from Sebastian so he opened about everything to him.

How he was feeling alone now that Kurt was in New York and he was still in Lima; how he didn't feel attached to anything anymore like he was going to float away into nothingness; how he had cheated on Kurt because he was feeling like he was losing him; how he had met a boy on Facebook and he had seriously made out with him to check if he was falling out of love with Kurt. He knew he had made a mistake by cheating on Kurt as soon as they started kissing. Blaine accepted his mistake, he was guilty of breaking Kurt's heart, but it wasn't his intention to do so. He had immediately flown to Kurt to confess his mistake because it was just that, a mistake but Kurt didn't even listen to him once, he didn't let him complete what he wanted to say and had run away. Kurt stopped picking up his calls, any attempts to contact him and then all of a sudden he called one day to give him the veiled ultimatum to choose one side or the other.

Blaine had lost his first boyfriend, love of his life, his soul mate, and his friends, new, and old so he was feeling lonelier than ever. He didn't know what to do anymore so he decided to ask the only one who was listening to him at that time.

 _"What do you suggest I should do then oh-so-intelligent one?" he asked mocking in his alcoholic haze._

 _"You do what your heart desires, I certainly do. I like somebody, I go after them; if they don't like me back, I try to change their mind but if they refuse again, it's their loss. I don't manipulate and play mind games with anyone, you know where you stand with me"_

 _"But you kept pursuing me?"_

 _"What can I say, killer, there's always one exception to every rule" Sebastian replied in his usual cocky manner._

 _"But why didn't you try it again today, you know I'm not with Kurt now," Blaine said without even thinking._

 _"Do you want me to try something with you killer?" he asked in an almost leering manner._

 _"No just asking"_

 _"Well I thought you'd still be in Hummel induced funk so I didn't but if you want I can certainly oblige"_

 _"No, no need"_

 _"Like I said, your loss," Sebastian said with his disarming grin._

 _"Why don't you get a boyfriend, you know somebody nice?" Blaine questioned after a moment looking at Sebastian._

 _"Ew, boyfriend," the other boy said making face._

 _"You say it like its some disease"_

 _"Well it looks likes one to me, I mean you're looking particularly thrashed after suffering caused by the boyfriend-disease" Sebastian shrugged._

 _"So you'll never have one then"_

 _"I don't know, I'd say never say never"_

 _"I really want to see the man who tames you"_

 _"Puh…lease, nobody is taming this sexy beast anytime soon, now let's dance your sorrows away"_

The train stopped as he saw his station had arrived so Blaine got out and walked back to his building. He decided to stop reminiscing about the past as nothing he could do now to change it. The only thing he could do was wait as the ball was in Sebastian's court now and if he gave him the time of his day, Blaine would accept whatever he got.

The best case scenario was that they'd be able to reconcile their friendship one day in the future and Blaine would get his friend back but on the other hand, the worst case scenario was that Sebastian would never talk to him ever again. But like he thought, nobody cuts ties with Sebastian, he's the one who decides who stays or goes and Blaine could only hope that he could stay somehow.


	8. Chapter 8

**Peek into Sebastian's world**

As Sebastian walked inside his apartment, he realized that he genuinely needed a break after this tour; he had gone to LA for interviews and promotion for his album and current on-going tour. There'd been an important meeting for a new project that he was working on so it had been a long day with constant interviews, meet & greet and signings.

He had grown up in many ways since he stepped out of his grandparents' home in London for the world tour promoting his album. His meteoric rise to fame had taken even him by surprise, which was no easy maneuver. And to think he never thought of taking singing/songwriting as his first choice of profession.

Sebastian saw Halo come towards him so he smiled and bent down to pick him up. Halo was Mr. Puss's love child with Amelia, his grandmother's cat. He was white and had a bit of cute brown patch on his head that looked like a halo.

"Seb, I've made dinner so get changed and come downstairs; you can play with him after you eat," Lily told him once he sat down on the couch in the living room to which Sebastian just nodded. He scratched Halo and petted him as he went upstairs to his room.

Sebastian let the kitten down and started removing his clothes as it had been too fucking hot and sweaty for his taste in New York during this particular May. Thankfully this weekend was completely off with no scheduled appearances from him, so he could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. But he was sure that by tomorrow noon, Santana and Brittany would come to pester him to spend some time with him. He went downstairs for dinner, as he hadn't eaten anything on the flight back. Lily had already served him a plate and was waiting for him.

"I made stir-fry vegetables and chicken cause I didn't know what you wanted," Lily told him.

"It's fine Miss Lily, did you have dinner already," Sebastian said as he sat down at the dining table.

"No, I was waiting for you" "Then why don't you serve yourself a plate and eat with me"

"Only if you tell me all about your trip"

This was their ritual for as long as Sebastian could remember. He used to come home from anywhere, be it school or dance practice or lacrosse, she'd wait for him, and they'd eat together. She was the only one in the house who cared about his day after his mother's death so he would sit down and recount his whole day to her.

Miss Lily had been in his life since he could remember and she had been like another mother to him. Her husband Jonathan used to be the butler at their house and she used to take care of him and his twin sister. He had lost his mother and his twin sister in a car accident, which he survived when he was 8. Miss Lily and her husband were the ones who had nursed him back to health after that accident while his father grieved the loss of his beloved wife and daughter.

Miss Lily and her husband didn't have any children of their own so they used to treat Sebastian and his sister as their own. After his father shipped him to Paris to live with his grandparents, his mother's parents, he had missed Miss Lily more than his father.

After the dinner, Lily and Sebastian continued their conversation in the informal living room while Halo and Zeus played with each other. Sebastian never treated Lily as a servant; she was family to him in the truest sense. Lily had lost her husband to cancer a few years ago and had been working as a cook at his paternal grandparents' house in London. He had asked her to come live with him when he decided to move to New York and she agreed.

"Do you have somewhere to be tomorrow or are you free?" Lily asked.

"Actually I'm free but maybe my friends will come sometime in the day," Sebastian answered while flipping channels on the television.

"Okay, just inform me when you know and I'll handle the food"

"Since everybody knows that I was out of town this week so maybe they won't come, so you don't need to worry Miss Lily"

"Fair enough. And at what time will you wake up or is it a lazy day" she asked. "Lazy day all weekend" Sebastian smiled freely.

"Not all weekend, you have a party on Sunday night" she reminded him.

"Yeah except that, it is"

Sebastian went to his room later and decided to have a shower before bed. He entered his shower and turned on all the jets to soothe his muscles after the day he had. It was just what he needed.

The last couple of days had been very busy for him after moving to New York City from London but weirdly he felt right here. He had gotten a bit of break between the various legs of the tour so he decided to move now instead of doing it after. Asking Miss Lily to come live with him had turned out to be a great decision as she took charge of moving everything with the help of Hunter while he was on tour. All of his belongings were already packed as they were in storage so all they had to do was to pack whatever wasn't and ship it all carefully.

Even though it had been years since he lived in New York, it felt like home. He couldn't even properly recall living here, as he was very small when he did, maybe only couple years old. But his friends were here, Hunter and Natasha had moved to the city this year and his stepmother, Annalise's parents also lived in Hampton's.

After drying his hair and toweling himself, he went out to his master bedroom and saw Zeus near window gazing into the expanse. Halo must have gone to Miss Lily while Zeus had come upstairs to him. He went near him after changing into shorts. The views from his bedroom were truly breathtaking, the Hudson River looked beautiful at night, and you could see the Statue of Liberty at the distance.

This apartment was Sebastian's first big purchase for himself since he started earning. It was his first big splurge since he made it big. When he turned 18, Sebastian inherited a ridiculous amount of property and money so he decided to do something with it rather than keeping it in his bank account. He invested it intelligently in real estate, business ventures, and some of it in charity. His real estate investments turned out very profitable and he multiplied up his money soon and before he even graduated from college, he had made enough money that he could retire and live out his life without working ever.

"Let's turn in for the night, we both had a long day," he said bending and petting Zeus affectionately. Zeus turned and nuzzled him. It became a habit of his to talk to Zeus like a person since they had been living together for almost 3 years. Zeus was a golden retriever with a very pale coat that sometimes in sunlight looked almost white.

Sebastian settled in his bed and turned off all the lights except for the night lamp and Zeus also got beside him and started cuddling in his own distinct way.

Turning on his iPad, he started checking his emails and messages. He replied to Chace, his manager confirming their meeting first thing this week and he found an email from Portia. That was fast. She had proposed a visit to his new apartment, some shopping, and a dinner. They had become very good friends since he first met Ellen and Portia last year. He sent a quick reply to her before going to sleep.

It was around 11 when Sebastian woke next day after feeling his phone going off. There were messages from Hunter, Santana, and Dave basically asking if he was free and if they could come to meet him.

After replying to them saying that they could come in an hour, he freshened up and went downstairs. He saw Lily in the kitchen so he greeted her good morning. Zeus and Halo came to him when they heard him.

He bent down and played with them while Lily told him, "good morning, I've already made you breakfast and it's in the warmer as I didn't know when you were going to get up. I already took out Zeus while you were sleeping and I'm going for grocery shopping for tomorrow's party so if you need anything, add it to the list on the fridge."

Sebastian just nodded and read the list on the fridge and he added Nutella to it. He took out some orange juice from the fridge and went out to the terrace.

It was a beautiful day to spend outside and he decided to take a swim before having breakfast. So he took out some towels and his swimsuit from the linen closet near the balcony door and went out with Zeus and Halo trailing behind him.

He sent out a message to Hunter to let himself and everybody in as he had the codes to the elevator. He didn't want to get out of the pool unless he wanted to.

Sebastian had spent almost half an hour in the pool when he saw everybody come out to the pool. He swam towards the edge where he saw Brittany and Natasha waiting for him.

"You look like you're having fun Sebby, " Brittany said.

"I am Britt. You ladies look beautiful," Sebastian told them.

"Thank you, Seb. Now are you going to come out or not," Natasha asked him.

"Actually I was going to, so yes" Sebastian replied.

Sebastian climbed out of the pool and took the towel that Natasha handed him. He dried himself and went where everybody else was sitting and playing with Zeus and Halo.

"Hello everybody, I'm going to change and come back so till then help yourself to whatever you want; Miss Lily isn't home. You people know more about my kitchen then I do, there's some breakfast in the warmer too" Sebastian told them.

He walked inside, went to his bedroom and quickly took a shower and changed into summer shorts and a tank top. When he came downstairs, he saw everyone inside. The girls and Andrew were in the kitchen while Hunter and Dave were mixing drinks.

"Looks like everyone's made themselves home huh?" Sebastian commented sarcastically walking down the stairs.

"You told us to help ourselves, Posh Boy," Hunter said rolling his eyes at Sebastian.

"Fuck off Captain," Sebastian said in retaliation.

"You wish" Hunter replied in it.

"Guys" Natasha trying to stop them or they'd continue this all day long. Hunter and Sebastian were best of friends and would do anything for each other but they got along like oil and water most of the time. Their usual setting was riling each other up and making fun of everything and everyone while Natasha always played referee between their squabbles.

"He started it," Sebastian said sitting down on the stool near the breakfast bar where Brittany was putting the cooked food to take it outside.

"Very mature Seb" Hunter replied. Sebastian just stuck out his tongue to which Hunter said, "like I said, very mature."

Once everything was cooked, they took everything out in the rooftop terrace garden to eat. Everybody carried something and soon they sat down to eat.

"So how was LA?" Andrew asked about Sebastian's recent trip.

"Same old, same old, I think they have the worst paparazzi of the world. I mean at least here they have a sense of personal space, there I felt like they would mob me if I didn't have Henry and Matt with me" Sebastian told everyone.

"Really? Was it that bad?" Dave asked.

"Seb's right, I had to handle Zeus while Henry and Matt covered Seb. And the most annoying thing they do is try to engage, I mean everybody knows Seb is gay yet they asked him if he's dating me or was I his fiancé once they saw my ring" Natasha telling them how bad it had been.

"And I can only imagine what your answer must have been" Santana commented.

"What were you two doing that they thought you were dating" Dave inquired what could've sparked people to ask such things. He was still in awe of how the glitzy world of celebrities was so fickle. One minute you're gay and other, media is asking if you're getting married to a woman. He still sometimes had trouble accepting that people were okay with homosexuality in general.

"Nothing, just holding hands on the way inside the airport," Natasha told them.

"Where is Lily, by the way; I wanted to ask her about something," Hunter asked changing the subject as he already knew all about it. It was kind of a daily occurrence for him that Sebastian and Natasha were assumed to be more than what they are with how close friends they were on top of being professionally related.

"She is out for grocery shopping, I think she'll be back soon so you can ask her then" Sebastian answered.

Once they had eaten, everybody helped in cleaning and then went back out. Everybody relaxed around the various seating areas under the pergola as the conversation continued.

"I have to say Seb, your home is absolutely beautiful. The best thing about it is that even though it's an apartment in the city but you don't feel like you're living in a box in the air. There's an equal amount of greenery to balance everything, I mean where do you see a garden with a water feature in the middle of an apartment" Andrew told Sebastian.

"Somebody was pretty adamant about it but I've to agree, it's one of the unique things I've seen in any home," Hunter told him before Sebastian could say anything.

"I saw it in one home that my grandmother was working on, immediately I knew that this was something I had to have in my home," Sebastian told them.

"It's great that you did," Dave said.

"I think our guest bedroom must be the size of that garden" Santana commented looking towards the sky.

"It did cost a pretty penny," Natasha remarked.

"Well, not everybody can be multi-millionaires like our Seb here at such age to afford something like this," Andrew said.

"Agreed but not everybody can work like me," Sebastian replied smirking. "So modest," Santana said teasing him.

"Eh... I think modesty is overrated. If I've worked day and night for something, why should I act like it's nothing." Sebastian told them.

"Sometimes I feel like I don't even know who I'm talking to, you've changed so much since the first time we met but then again you haven't," Dave said reflecting.

"I think it's for the better Sebby, we like you just the way you are," Brittany said looking at Sebastian.

"Thanks, Britt, even I couldn't handle the assholic version sometimes so it's for the better," Sebastian told them lying down still looking at the sky.

"If Lady Hummel could hear that, he'd have a field day," Santana remarked.

"Ha, but agreed," Sebastian said laughing. "You know what, since you brought him up, why don't you tell me what's happening on the Anderson-Hummel front. Did they pop out kids and have a New York version of the white picket fence?" he asked.

"Um... uh" Dave hesitated.

"What? Did one of them die or something, in fact, " Sebastian said looking towards others.

"No, nothing like that, in fact, they got divorced," Santana, said looking at him before anybody could pussyfoot around.

"Divorced?" Sebastian exclaimed in surprise sitting up suddenly.

"Yes, last year. We wanted to tell you but you had said that you don't want to hear anything about them, not even their names so..." Dave told him.

"It's fine, I mean why do I care. They can do whatever the fuck they feel like. I don't give a fuck but just for shits and giggles, why the sudden change of heart as I heard last, they were soul fucking mates and shit," Sebastian told them. Everybody could see that Sebastian was clearly affected by the news by the sudden change in his language but nobody commented on it.

"Kurt cheated on Blaine," Santana told him.

"What?" Sebastian was clearly shocked to hear that.

"Kurt cheated on Blaine" Santana repeated.

"Saint Hummel cheated on Anderson, Saint Hummel? Are you sure? I mean..." Sebastian asked again not believing what his ears just heard.

"Yes, we're sure. He had an affair with somebody at work and Blaine caught them red handed" Santana

"Red-handed how? Like evidence on the phone kind or between the sheets kind" Sebastian asked intrigued.

"Literally between the sheets kind"

"Ouch" Sebastian commented. A moment later laying down again he said, "I've to say I'm shocked, I mean... he used to be so virginal back then and he was cheating on Anderson, really?"

"Yes really and the kicker was that he thought Hobbit was also cheating on him but that wasn't the case. Hobbit was just busy working on his Ph.D. and working part time while Lady Hummel was having fun," Santana told him.

"He's getting a Ph.D.?" Sebastian asked her.

"Yeah, from Columbia in psychology, we don't talk much now as we didn't want to get between their issues. He's close to the blond Warbler and the short brunette one, I think they go to the same college" Santana replied.

"Jeff and Nick, so other Warblers are here too?" Hunter said, as even he didn't know the whole story. He just knew that Blaine had divorced Kurt last year.

"Yes they are, some in the city and some nearby" Brittany told them.

"Oh..." Sebastian said.

"What are you going to do Seb if you see them?" Natasha asked taking the role of a professional as well as a friend. She knew about the Warblers from both Hunter and Sebastian so she wanted to know what was going on in his head. They had to be ready for anything as Sebastian was living under public eye now.

"I don't know, I mean Hunter hasn't crossed paths with them till now and he has been living here for 6 months so maybe I wouldn't meet them anytime soon. We don't run in the same social circles now" Sebastian said after thinking for a minute.

"Seb, Hunter isn't popular like you" Andrew mentioned.

"And they didn't like me as they liked you, you were the one who saved them from my tyranny and as much as you think they didn't care about you, they did. I was there for you birthday surprise which you walked out on so I think they'd try to contact you now once they know that you're here" Hunter also told him.

"Fine, I'll do the right thing as per the situation when I face it but I'm not going out of my way to contact them" Sebastian informed them getting their point.

"Nobody's asking you to do that, we just want you to be prepared and not get blindsided if you do see them" Natasha acknowledged on behalf of everybody.

"And what about Blaine?" Dave asked pointing to the big pink elephant nobody had touched.


	9. Chapter 9

" _And what about Blaine" Dave pointing to the big pink elephant nobody had touched_.

"What about him, Anderson doesn't give a shit about me and the last time I talked to him, I asked him to not contact me ever again so..." Sebastian said drily.

"Sebby you're wrong, Blaine missed you more than you could imagine. He and Kurt used to fight about you all the time and he'd always take your side" Brittany told him before he could say anything else.

"Whatever Britt, he's someone that I really don't know how I'll react to if/when I see him, " Sebastian said looking away. A moment later with a devilish smirk on his face, he said, "But Kurt on the other hand, I'm going to have so much fun when I do see him, sorry Davey."

"It's fine Sebby," Dave said rolling eyes at his friend's antics.

"I so wish I'm there when you do," Santana remarked.

"Me too" Andrew agreed.

"Now I wish I do too," Dave said a beat later imagining possible scenarios how the meeting would go down.

"Admit it, everyone here wants to be there when the two of them meet, it's going to be epic," Hunter said.

"Yeah... epic disaster" Natasha declared looking at her fiancé.

"Buzzkill" Hunter mumbled in reply.

"Now that you've talked about it, somebody from Architectural Digest contacted Chace about doing an article on my home. I was thinking about it but now I'm gonna say yes" Sebastian told Natasha with mysterious mirth in his eyes while avoiding others and their interest in watching him meet Kurt after all this time.

"You really hate him, don't you," Andrew asked looking at him.

"I don't hate him, I'm just simply not excited about his existence. I don't like who he presents himself to be or did. Santana, Hunter, me, we all will happily admit that we are grade A assholes and bitches most of the time and we own it but he, he likes to wear white gloves and shoes and act like he's the biggest saint born ever while having an attitude to boot. He always used to be on such high horse back in high school, like he never did anything wrong and I don't like that kind of people. We all here have made mistakes back then and we owned them. Later we did whatever we could to make things right to the best of our abilities but I'm sure I'm still the villain in his eyes and he hates me" Sebastian said while throwing the ball for Zeus and Halo.

"You are, and he went mental when he saw you on the GQ cover while he was still in between jobs. If he could burn it, he'd have set it on fire with his eyes in our living room." Santana told everybody.

"Where was Blaine at that time?" Andrew asked intrigued.

"He was sitting beside him trying to keep his eyes off of the magazine and avoiding Kurt," Santana said getting excited about the story.

"She was having so much fun that day, Santana basically sat between them and kept them showing all your photos again and again while discussing how great you looked. I couldn't decide whether I should stop her or laugh at them," Brittany told everyone.

"You've to know Seb that your promise about not letting anybody know that we were in touch with you has cost me so much entertainment that I should demand compensation for it," Santana said.

"My humble apologies for your plight Mrs. Lopez-Pierce" Sebastian said looking not even a single bit apologetic.

"Humble my ass" Santana muttered.

"Your ass isn't humble San," Brittany said remarking.

"I agree with Britt, it isn't," Sebastian said while acting as if he was checking Santana out.

"Damn right it isn't," Santana said saucily and everyone just laughed.

"Does somebody know how Kurt reacted when he heard Sebastian for the first time?" Andrew asked once they all stopped laughing.

"No, we don't but it must've been really brutal as he used to basically turn puce whenever your photos would come in magazines and then when you started doing ad campaigns and fashion weeks while he was still just an intern at Vogue, so I think he must've lost it when he first heard you singing" Santana told him.

"Blaine once told me that they still fought over you even after they got married" Brittany added. "You didn't tell me this" Santana asked looking at her wife.

"You would get happy about it and start pushing it more, putting Seb's song whenever they'd be around so I didn't" Brittany replied.

"What's wrong with that?"

Brittany told her, "Nothing but it hurt Blaine and created problems for him. He never told Kurt that he had dated Seb when they broke up during Blaine's senior year and still Kurt brought up Seb every time they fought so imagine if you knew."

"Why did they even marry if they used to fight each other all the time," Natasha asked the big question.

"We don't know, I think they always had this pressure of being the 'it' gay couple that they never thought they could be happy without each other. Blaine had to face some major backlash for divorcing Kurt" Santana told everyone.

Sebastian just remarked, "Whatever, I'm happy that I wasn't at the ground zero because if I was, I would've gotten arrested for beating up Lady Hummel."

"Aren't you worried about that now?" Andrew asked him.

"Nah... I know that I'm better than him, not that I'm a saint or anything but because I know that I'm not the one who had cheated on their spouse; I'm not the one who's jealous of another person for having the success they have. I used to be envious of him, now I feel like a fool for even thinking he was better than me. He used to call me names and now he has become the same thing he used to call me so I don't need to do anything, he knows he can't get to me whenever he sees me. Now can we please change the subject, I think I know why I put a ban on any talk about them in front of me" Sebastian said asking to turn the direction of the conversation. He still didn't like talking about them and now he didn't even care.

"Agreed, they just bring down the atmosphere," Santana said in agreement.

Andrew asked Natasha getting that the previous conversation was souring Sebastian's mood, "On to happy talks, Tasha are all the arrangements done for your wedding?"

"Yes, Hunter here has been the best and practically planned the whole wedding on his own while I was gallivanting around with Seb," Natasha told him.

"You weren't gallivanting around Tash," Dave said.

"I for one didn't think dear Captain had it in him, I mean Hunter-not-even-remotely-bicurious- Clarington planning a wedding and that too alone, I must be in an alternate universe" Sebastian added knowing how much it still riled up when he teased Hunter about his very funny introduction in high school.

"Fuck off. I did it because I didn't want to handle anything from across the world when I join these two on tour," Hunter said not even a beat later.

"I feel so loved," Sebastian said dramatically putting a hand on his heart.

"You should" Hunter replied.

"Hunter, are you done with your next book?" Dave cut in before they could start again.

"No, but I'm on schedule. My editor knows that I'm busy in a sense after this week for at least next few months so he put the deadlines accordingly but I'll be done with it before my wedding in August." Hunter replied to him.

"And honeymoon plans?" Santana asked.

"Top secret but it's going to be a long one"

"You both deserve it"

"Especially Tash here" Andrew added.

"But enough about me, when are you two getting married, it's about time," Natasha asked the only other couple who was still not married after being together for almost as long as them.

"We will when the time's right," Dave told them on behalf of both Andrew and himself.

"Please don't elope, I want to give a speech at your wedding" Sebastian said sitting up and looking at both Andrew and Dave in the eyes.

Andrew added acknowledging him, "Don't worry Seb, we won't rob you of your speech."

"I also want to give Davey away," Sebastian told them.

"What? I'm sure Paul would have an issue with it" Andrew exclaimed.

"Nah... Papa Bear and I already have an agreement between us," Sebastian said pacifying him in a dismissing manner while Dave was just plain gobsmacked by what he just heard.

"What agreement? This is the first time I'm hearing about this" Dave asked finally when he came back from his surprise.

Others were just hearing this for the first time so decided not to interrupt them while they could hear the full story. They all knew that it was going to be one of the hilarious ones.

"That's because nobody ever talked about it in front of you Bear Cub" Sebastian told Dave.

"And when exactly did this happen?" Dave asked.

"When we sent you to your first date with that boy I made you ask at the bowling alley, he had come to pick you up on the date and Papa Bear had grilled him"

"I've to talk to him about this, you both together for me is a recipe for disaster"

"Please Davey, if he could, he'd adopt me. I think at that time, he secretly wanted me to be the one dating you but then he settled for the blond, beach surfer, tempered down version of me, Andrew here"

"I agree with Seb, sometimes I do feel like if Paul could, he'd replace me with Seb," Andrew said agreeing with Sebastian.

"I think this is the first time in my life, any parent has ever thought of replacing their child's partner with me" Sebastian observed.

"That's because my dad thinks you're an angel who saved his son's life," Dave told him.

To which Sebastian just added, "And the first time, somebody's parent think I'm an angel."

"My mom does" Brittany chimed in.

Natasha added agreeing with Brittany, "Mine too."

"What are these people on? Sebastian Kool-Aid? My mom thinks you're my long lost twin" Santana commented drily.

"My father thinks Sebastian is the reason I didn't join the military, calls him spoiled rich brat every time we talk," Hunter told them.

"What about your mom?" Andrew asked.

"She thinks he's a charming young man who knows exactly what he wants," Hunter told him.

To which Sebastian just apprised smugly, "You all have to agree that everybody's parents love me." And tacked on, "okay, maybe except my own father and Hunter's dad."

"They don't see the version that we see or they'll know the truth," Hunter told him for his previous statement.

"You're just jealous that Tasha's dad also loves me but tolerates you," Sebastian said in response.

"What do you mean Seb?" Dave asked.

Hunter decided to tell everyone about Natasha's dad, "He always tries to tell me to stop riding on Seb's coattails and find my own path and whenever anybody tells him that I'm a best-selling book writer, he says..."

"That anybody can write a book. Hunter, you know I don't try to pacify people but for your and Tasha's sake let me tell you why he does that. He is just sad that you're taking his only daughter away a thousand miles away. While I do just that but you're the one whose going to be replacing his place as the most important man in her life so he's just a bit insecure. That's why he keeps on comparing you with me, you've to just make him understand that even though Tasha is leaving the country for you, he still is her dad and you'll never let her forget that" Sebastian butt in between so that he could clarify where Natasha's dad was coming from. He knew that Hunter always felt a bit bad about his relationship with Natasha's dad in comparison to Sebastian's so he cleared the air.

"And this is why Sebastian is the parent-whisperer, somebody give this man an award please," Andrew said while doing a slow clap to which Sebastian just bowed down while sitting while others just laughed at his antics.

"Well said Seb" Natasha just remarked as Sebastian had hit the nail right on the head about what was her father's motivations for his behavior towards Hunter.

"Don't give him more awards or his head won't fit through the door," Hunter said chuckling instead of acknowledging what Sebastian just said.

"Fuck you Captain" Sebastian just rolled his eyes.

"Thank god you're back, I don't think I'll ever be able to handle your serious side but thank you for that and I love you," Hunter told him.

"I know."

As they kept on talking about everything going on in each other's lives, Lily came out asking for Sebastian. They all said hello to Lily when she told him that there was a friend waiting for him in the living room. Sebastian asked who it was but Lily said, "Why don't you come inside and see?"

"Fine but I hope Miss Lily that it's not some crazed fan that you brought upstairs" Sebastian replied getting up from the daybed he was lying on.

"He's not"

"So this friend's a he," Hunter said looking at Dave. Both of them also got up to follow as Sebastian left with Zeus on his heels.

When Sebastian walked inside, he saw someone he never thought he'd see standing in his home in a million years. Blaine Anderson was standing in the middle of his living room with his cat in his hands. He felt a shiver roll down in his spine as he kept walking. He felt his body freeze in a sense when he saw him look up to his eyes.

And suddenly, every moment since he met this man went before his eyes to the last time he saw him getting married to Kurt. He heard Blaine say hi to him but he couldn't see past the last image of him Sebastian had. This man had changed him in ways he didn't even know and even though

Sebastian thought he was over Blaine, he could feel himself getting sucked into the quicksand that was Blaine to him.

So, he willed himself to say something and walk away before he lost his restraint and open his arms to Blaine again. Blaine was dangerous for his health and he wasn't going to give him chance to prove it again. He heard Blaine desperately calling him to stop and listen but he didn't. He knew that if he did, everything that Sebastian had built in last few years would just vanish into thin air. He'd be back to the 17-year-old boy who was enamored by the forbidden fruit.

Sebastian walked into the guest bedroom and locked it. He started pacing around but then Zeus stopped him so he sat down on the bed while Zeus laid across him trying to soothe him down.

Why was Blaine here all of a sudden? Was he here because he heard the news about him moving here? How did he find his address? And how did he meet Miss Lily?

He knew that Miss Lily knew that Blaine was his friend. He had a picture of them together on the Ferris wheel so when she asked him who the boy was, Sebastian told her that he was his friend. That picture is still hanging among others in his room.

Sebastian heard a knock on the door and heard Brittany on the other side asking to open the door. He got up and unlocked the door, letting her inside.

"Oh Sebby, are you all right?" Brittany said as she came inside.

Sebastian asked instead of answering Brittany's question, "Why is he here?"

"He says he just wants to talk"

"But why now, it's not even a week" Sebastian demanded bluntly.

"I know but do you want to talk to him"

"I don't think I'm ready for it, I thought I was but clearly I'm not," said Sebastian after a while looking away.

"Then you don't need to, you don't worry about anything and we'll handle him," she told him putting her hand gently on his shoulder to make him look at her.

"Can you see what he wants and ask him not to contact me again till I say so?" Sebastian told Brittany.

"I can do that, you stay here if you want to and we'll make sure that he doesn't come here or try to meet you till you want to, is that fine?"

"Yes and can you send Miss Lily when you go out"

"Sure, anything you want"

Brittany then got up and left the room after closing the door behind her. A moment later he heard another knock and Miss Lily's voice asking to come inside. He replied in affirmation after which she opened the door and came inside.

"Sebastian I'm so sorry, you've to know that I didn't know that he isn't your friend anymore. I thought you'd like to meet him because of the photo that you have. I never..." Lily said as soon as she saw Sebastian.

"It's fine Miss Lily, you didn't know but please, can you from now on in the future remember that there are a lot of people who would try to get access to me through you when they know that you live with me. I should've talked to you about this beforehand but I didn't so I'm doing it now. All my friends are already here and I don't have any more friends in the city. Anybody that I do give access to my home or to me, I'll introduce them to you first in person and tell you who they are to me so if anybody and I mean anybody else says that they're my friend, you please politely decline. Can you do that Miss Lily?"

"Yes I can, you've my word. If I knew about this before, I wouldn't have brought him, he tried to help me and then I recognized him from the photos so I thought..."

"Hobbit actually stalked you on the Internet, found your address somehow and decided to track you down. He manipulated Lily into letting him in here" Santana said from the doorway.

"I've to say I'm impressed that he learned manipulation but right now I'm getting pissed" Sebastian replied looking at her.

"I'm really sorry Sebastian..." Lily told him again.

"It's not your fault Miss Lily, Blaine's just charming like that and you're not the only one but please from now on, you know what to do"

"Of course, now if you excuse me, I was putting the grocery away," Lily said before she left. Sebastian nodded and Lily went away. Santana told him, "come back now, we got rid of him"

Sebastian just nodded and followed her back to where everybody else was but he saw that Dave wasn't in the room so he asked, "Where's Dave?"

Santana just replied, "Taking care of him personally."

"Are you okay Seb?" Andrew asked once he saw Seb coming back.

"Peachy, I thought I was going to be okay when I see him eventually but let's just say, seeing him like this was a shock to the system"

"He looked different since I saw him, no bow ties or hair gel. Looked grown up instead of a child dressed like a grandpa," Hunter said.

"He lost hair gel when he joined college and bow ties also declined to special occasions later on. I'd say he looks better now since I last saw him, more like himself than the overworked version of a housewife" Santana told them.

"I've to say I can see the appeal," Andrew said.

Sebastian had enough of that talk so he asked, "can we talk about anything else?"

"No, we need to talk about this. What happened today can't happen in public again and definitely, in front of the cameras, Sebastian" Natasha told him. She had to do damage control if this had the potential to become something big. But Sebastian wasn't having the same mindset as her.

"Firstly, don't call me Sebastian; it's not my fault he was here so you can't fault me for my reaction"

"She isn't faulting you in any way Seb, nobody here is but you've to remember that you live in public eye. If a wrong person found out about you and Blaine, the media would have a field day with it. Everyone is still speculating who broke Sebastian Smythe's heart so hard that he wrote an album over them. And if they got a whiff about Blaine from anywhere, they be like sharks after a drop of blood, right now they think that it's a supermodel you must've dated or somebody from college so lets keep it that way" Hunter said coming in Natasha's defense and trying to make Sebastian see her perspective.

"Agreed, today when we go back, Britt and I are going to schedule a meeting with Hobbit tomorrow and we'll make him understand where he stands. We'll make sure that he doesn't talk to any wrong person or tries to contact you or meet you again, okay Seb?" Santana also suggested.

"Okay and I've already talked to Miss Lily, she knows the protocol from now on and I'm sorry Tasha for over-reacting," Sebastian said once he listened to everybody and calmed down.

"It's okay Seb, it's a bit hard to draw a line when you're professionally and personally related but no hard feelings," Natasha told him.

"I've to say that I'm impressed he somehow reached me, I mean what are the odds" "He was very determined, I'd even say that he never thought you'd refuse to listen to him"

"You're right and if it was another day and a different situation I think, I might've not reacted the same way. Seeing him standing in my home just after talking about him after a year put some pretty hard odds against him" Sebastian told them.

"Are you ever going to talk to him again?" Natasha asked.

"I honestly don't know."


	10. Chapter 10

Once Sebastian saw that everybody was busy watching the movie they chose to watch that evening, he let his mind free to roam. And his mind automatically went to Blaine, how different he looked. He looked beautiful in those dark jeans and navy button down shirt with his curls set free yet styled enough. When he had walked inside towards him, Sebastian remembered the first time they met.

But so much had changed since then yet Blaine still made him feel differently just like he did back then. He couldn't keep his cocky demeanor around him this time like he did then and he could only imagine what Blaine must be thinking about him. He would be laughing about his reaction surely. Because that's what Sebastian had become, a joke. He could just hope that Blaine won't dig into his feelings now and then try to do something about them that Sebastian couldn't control.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Kurt was having dinner with some of his friends before going to enjoy the weekend with them. He had spent the whole day around his studio apartment doing nothing in particular.

Kurt still felt like Blaine had been too harsh with him when he made the same mistake, which Blaine made in the past. He didn't want to but Kurt was sure that Blaine was doing the same thing to him. Moreover, in Kurt's mind, he thought he had forgiven Blaine for cheating in the past so he should've got the same allowance. He still hoped that they could at least rekindle their friendship if not anything else but Blaine didn't even want to see him anymore. Once Blaine left him, he understood how important Blaine was to him and how he must've felt when Kurt broke up with him back in high school.

He had faith that once Blaine calmed down and felt like Kurt had after their various breaks, he'd come back to him. But for that Kurt had to keep himself in Blaine's life as much as he could without making Blaine angry with him more than he already was. After all, Blaine just needed time to forgive Kurt for his mistake and sooner than later he'd take Kurt back, after all, that's what their relationship was all about.

"So, who has plans for going out of the city for the summer? I'm so bummed that mine fell at the last minute," Mark asked everyone sitting at the table.

"I'm actually going to Hampton next weekend with my girlfriend to her summer home" Peter replied.

Then everyone chimed in about their plans and got comments from the rest.

"Kurt, what about you? Are you going to do something this summer?" one of Kurt's friend asked once he saw that Kurt was yet to answer.

"I'm going to be in the city for sure so I'll be taking whatever the city has to offer. My boss is working a lot of summer shoots so I'll be busy with that" Kurt replied.

"Me too, my boss is right now is trying to get in contact with Sebastian Smythe to do an editorial on his home" Elias chimed in who worked for Architectural Digest at Conde Nast.

"What?" Kurt exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah, he just moved to the city and according to the news, apparently his home is the stuff of dreams in New York City. My boss is in talks with his people to let us do a feature on it for the next month issue. She wants it to be on our cover" Elias elaborated.

"He's in the city?" Kurt said a moment later not believing.

"Didn't you know Kurt? He was on Ellen. Looked great and his performance was exceptional" Peter told him.

"I need to go home, I just remembered something," Kurt said getting up not able to listen anymore. He just had to get home and find everything on his own.

"Why Kurt? You were just fine..." "No. I think I didn't lock something so bye. See you all later."

With that Kurt just left some bills on the table for his share and left the restaurant without looking back to his friends. He was shocked by the news he just heard.

The last thing he expected to hear when he came out for dinner was to hear the Meerkat was in his city. Till last year Kurt was so sure that Blaine was having an affair with the Meerkat but after receiving the letter from him, he knew that they had truly not kept in touch. But he was sure that the bastard was one of the biggest reasons his marriage failed and Blaine wasn't taking him back. Now he knew that Blaine had just left him to be with the snake and it had slithered his way to his city.

But what he didn't know was that Kurt wasn't going to let him take what was his so easily. If Blaine wasn't his, he sure was hell wasn't going to be that bastard's. He still suspected that the Meerkat had gotten his dirty hands on Blaine back in high school though Blaine never confirmed his suspicion even once whenever they fought. But Kurt knew from the letter from the Meerkat that he loved his Blaine and Blaine didn't know about it. He still didn't know that he inspired Meerkat's overrated and overhyped album and Kurt had to keep it that way.

But for now, Kurt had to go back to his place and search the Internet about the Meerkat and know if Blaine and Meerkat had met already or not. Maybe he needed to pay his ex-husband a visit soon or get Rachel to find out the truth from him. She still tried to be friends with both Kurt and Blaine while Santana and Brittany had cut ties with him long before Blaine left him.

Kurt knew that Santana never liked him but he wasn't sure what was Santana and Meerkat's connection that she always defended him one way or another. Last he knew that the criminal chipmunk had thrown a slushy at her too but she'd play devil's advocate whenever he bad mouthed the evil Warbler. Even Brittany joined the bandwagon with her wife and defended the bastard and praised him whenever he came on the air.

Kurt still couldn't believe that people actually liked Meerkat's whining about not getting Blaine but only if they knew about his true colors. So many times he wanted to contact one of his journalist friends and tell them about everything that the Meerkat did in high school but he didn't want to give him the satisfaction that he got to him. Kurt prided himself on showing the criminal chipmunk that he didn't affect him and he wasn't going to give him that pleasure now but he'd surely keep the information for use if needed later as something to hold over him if a time like that came.

He had been overjoyed when he came to know that the Meerkat had left the country and didn't keep contact with anyone. Blaine and Warblers had gone hysterical trying to find him and talk to him after Blaine's graduation but Kurt had double reasons to be over the moon. Finally, he was engaged to love of his life and the only thorn in his love life had removed himself.

He still didn't get Meerkat's appeal, sure he was good looking in a totally stereotypical way and he even had everything going for him but what did everyone see in him Kurt couldn't understand. His repelling attitude and even worse whoring behavior were enough for Kurt to know that he

was a lost cause. People like him didn't deserve anything good after being so bad in life.

Once Kurt reached his apartment, he changed into his pajamas and got his laptop out. He started searching for Ellen show videos and then read various celebrity websites. Apparently, Meerkat had really moved to New York and got a place in Tribeca, surely bought by his rich daddy and he was back in big apple after his appearances in LA. But he was going to Australia on Tuesday and had no scheduled appearances till then. Kurt was sure that Blaine hadn't got in touch with the Meerkat and since he had summer internship so he won't be doing so in the week too. Maybe before Blaine could reach the chipmunk, he'd be on his way to Australia. Kurt could only hope and pray for that but he knew he had to do some fact finding on his own and make sure that his ex-husband doesn't cross paths with the Meerkat.

Kurt had been able to keep them separate for so long so he wasn't going to let Blaine fall in Meerkat's arms now. He didn't deserve Blaine and he wasn't going to be his.

The next day Sebastian woke up late again and spent all day lazing around the apartment. He spent the whole day with Lily and his pets while helping Lily for the party in the evening. It was Dave's birthday party and he had asked them to do it at his place since Dave didn't want any fuss especially for him. And Sebastian's presence would create an additional issue in the public with constant interruptions from fans and media that he didn't want to handle this week.

Sebastian helped Lily bake and decorate a cake and then helped her prepare a variety of dishes for the evening. He had missed Dave, Santana, Britt, and Andrew when he was in England for college and the trips to meet every year didn't cut it enough. After college, he started traveling and then suddenly, he was thrust into the music industry and it became difficult to keep in touch regularly with everyone once he became super busy all the time. His friends, fortunately, took everything in stride and were there for him in all their capacity even from across the world while he was touring but now he was near them and wanted to give them in return.

When evening rolled down, he went to his room and got dressed according to the occasion. He even put a bow tie on Zeus and Halo for the party. He had gotten Dave and Andrew tickets for a vacation as a gift and keys to family home there for their stay. They could use a break from the city after the stressful jobs that they did. Dave had become sports agent like he had always aspired to be and he had some great clients while Andrew was an investment banker at the Wall Street. He was fortunate to see them meet for the first time and it was a case of love at first sight. But Andrew didn't approach Dave when he saw Sebastian with Dave. He had thought that they were together but Seb had seen Dave getting interested in the guy so he played the role of Dave's wingman and basically pimped out Dave to Andrew.

He was happy for them but he was especially glad for Dave, as Dave had come so far since high school. He had won over his fears and was living and loving his life with the man he loved and Sebastian was happy that he had been able to help Dave achieve it.

Once everybody arrived, they brought out the cake and then had dinner. Dave had gotten gifts from everybody and it had been a great night filled with laughter and happiness.

Sebastian knew that Santana and Brittany had met Blaine earlier in the day but he didn't bring it up that night. Brittany had told him that she'd meet him tomorrow to talk about everything that happened with Blaine so he decided to not talk about it again that night. It would be wasting his time and energy thinking about something he didn't know so he just went to sleep once he went to bed.

But on the other side of the city, Blaine's mind was in overdrive from thinking about his meeting with Santana and Brittany earlier in the day. He thought back about it as he lay in his bed.

Blaine saw Santana and Brittany enter inside from the large window booth he was sitting in at the back of the patisserie. They went to the counter to place their order and had some stuff packed to go. They paid for their order and walked over to where he was sitting.

"Hi, Blaine" Brittany greeted Blaine. "Hi Britt, Hi Santana" Blaine replied to which Santana just gave a brief nod. "I just want to apologize for yesterday. I never thought that would happen..." Blaine said.

"That's right you don't think Hobbit when it comes to Seb...you just assume that whatever you do in regard to him, everything will be all right. Because god forbid, you might just hurt him with your assumptions" Santana said cutting him in between.

"I never wanted to hurt him," he told them earnestly.

"Well, you didn't hurt him yesterday but you didn't earn you any brownie points either" Santana informed him.

"And Blaine, just because you didn't hurt him yesterday doesn't mean that he was never hurt by your actions," Brittany said to make him see their point.

"I..."

"Oh great, what do you think he is? He is not a robot. He is just a human made of flesh and bones. He breathes, loves, cares, gets angry, cries when he is hurting and can break into pieces just like you and me. He was devastated after he saw you getting back together with Lady Hummel in Lima Bean after spending the night with him and I will never forget that because people like him don't show emotions on anybody" Santana told him before Blaine could say anything. "So whatever your assumptions are, just throw them out of the window. He is not the same person he was back then and we both care about him like family so I will definitely go all Lima Heights on your ass if you're going to cause issues for my boy in any way" she threatened him.

"Santana, I just want to talk to him once. He never came around after my proposal to Kurt and just left all of a sudden. I thought he was going to Columbia but then came to know he was going to Oxford. It just feels that there was always something left incomplete between us. Maybe if we get some closure then..." he said trying to make them understand his motivation behind his actions.

"You do know that he doesn't have any obligation to you, don't you?" Santana asked. "Yes."

"Then you should also know that he isn't your toy to play with; this isn't high school and he doesn't want anything from you. You lost him years ago and he's moved on so whatever closure you feel like he owes you, you've to forget about it"

"Okay, I understand what you're trying to say," Blaine said a moment later getting what Santana was trying to convey but he couldn't help himself and ask, "but can you tell me something?"

Santana just nodded so he asked, "His album... who is it about?"

"I thought you knew, he told me that he sent a letter to let you know with one of the first copies of his album," she told him.

"Uhh... I never got any letter from him since I last saw him but I always thought that it was for Dillion," he said after a moment or two later absorbing the information given to him.

"It wasn't for him because the whole album is basically asking the man he loves to love him back and that can't be him because he has been dead for years now. But of all the things, that is what you're worried about, hmm? Either you are exceptionally self-absorbed or just plain ignorant" she said sarcastically.

"I never understood the extent of his feelings for me" Blaine sighed after a while. "Then you're both self-absorbed and ignorant" Santana commented.

"I never thought he felt for me like that. I mean with all his innuendos and trying to get in my pants, I always thought I was just like everybody else, just another..."

"If you were a just another notch on his bedpost, then he wouldn't have followed you everywhere the whole time before Valentine's the way that could even put a lovesick puppy to shame even after getting into your pants. I mean even I could see that what he felt for you wasn't just friendship or attraction. Why do you think Gayface felt so threatened by him all the time...even after marriage? Did you even felt something towards Sebastian apart from attraction or lust?" she said interrupting him.

"Uh..."

"Of course, you don't have an answer. I really don't know what did he see in you at that time. I mean you must either be a real stud in bed to hook Sebastian so hard or you must be playing some great game because I can't understand the relationship you two had even now. When you get the memo, do forward it to me. Some great psychologist you'll become when you can't even sort out your own life" Santana said acidly. Blaine just kept looking down at his coffee.

"I guess I have a lot of work to do to sort out the mess that my life has become. But you have to know Santana that I really liked Sebastian and I thought it was totally casual on both sides. I mean the way he used to come on to me when we first met, giving me attention, it made me feel great, and then when all hell broke loose after my cheating, he never once judged me. I felt if it doesn't matter to him then it doesn't matter to me. It was never my intention to hurt anyone...least of all Seb who was there for me when I felt alone and was battling my own demons. I think the 17-year- old me was so wrapped up in trying to be a better boyfriend and to right his wrongs that he became ignorant of everything and everyone apart from that. He couldn't see that the relationship that he was trying to save was already on a downward spiral and he was just not ready to leave the comfort of being in that relationship because otherwise, he would be all alone in the world with nobody to fall back on. And in that he could not comprehend that there was already someone there waiting for him to just let it go...oh god what have I done? Fuck" Blaine said trying to make sense of it all and held his head down.

"Well, you can make all the sense you want in your time but we are here to tell you that he has closed that chapter of his life. He is finally at a place in his life where he has found a balance, a semblance of peace and he doesn't want to open that Pandora box again anytime soon. He is very busy and has a lot of stuff going on in his life so leave him alone."

"I know Santana that he is very busy. Every day I open the news and across entertainment section is news about his records and new dates getting added to his ongoing tour. I am happy for him from the bottom of my heart and very proud of his achievements. Nobody would have ever thought he'd be the one to become an international sensation that he has become. He was always set on becoming a lawyer. But I wouldn't have guessed him to go to Oxford in my wildest dreams..."

"He was going to go to Columbia here in New York but changed his plans last minute to go to Oxford to be near his grandparents and his parents had also studied there" Brittany chimed in after

sitting so quiet for so long that Blaine actually forgot about her presence.

"And he could never decide what he wanted to do after high school even though he was set for college."

"Yet another thing that I never knew about Bas..."

"Oh no no...do not go on calling him Bas because he goes on a rampage if somebody calls him that."

"But I always called him Bas..."

"Of course you did...another piece of the puzzle that he is," Santana said thinking to which Blaine hung his head down on understanding the levity of the situation.

"You know Santana for the last half year I've been working on to get closure with my divorce and other stuff in my life. I found the answers that I was searching and made my peace with it. There is no 'what if' left in my mind regarding the 'Kurt' part of my life. My New Year resolution for this year was to get a relationship detox and be my own person and to some extent, I am succeeding in it. But please tell me this Santana that how will I make peace with the 'Sebastian' part of my life for however the small duration it was there when even I don't know everything about it. There is so much left unsaid between us. Maybe once I have processed everything that I have come to know, I could talk to him one last time to get closure for both of our sakes."

"Listen to me Hobbit, anything that you want to say can be said via me and if I find that you went near him without his invitation...I swear to god I will make your life hell. He doesn't want to talk to you right now and I completely support this decision because nothing good will come out of it. If and when he decides that he is ready to talk to you, I will let you know. The stunt you did yesterday was something I wasn't expecting to happen so soon after him moving to NYC and count your lucky stars that his bodyguards weren't there because they wouldn't have cared before calling the police for trespassing or even attempt to break and enter. His bodyguards can put even Sebastian and me to shame when it comes to hostility and rudeness towards strangers and they genuinely care for Sebastian. So for your own sake don't wake the sleeping dragon when you are not ready to play with fire because even if Sebastian has grown up but he can still be an asshole when he is put into a corner. Just because he wasn't at his best for you yesterday because you surprised him doesn't mean he has turned into a softy that'll let you walk over him" Santana said with finality leaving nothing for the discussion.

He said after a while addressing to both of them and giving the envelope, "Okay. I will respect Sebastian's choice and if and when we meet, it'll be on his terms. I don't want to inconvenience him anymore by trying to seek him out. Can you give this envelope to him them? It just has all the information on how to reach me all the time."

"Good and we'll pass this on to him," Santana said taking the envelope.

"Umm...can I ask you a question in regard to Sebastian and I don't need an elaborate answer to it? Just a yes or no will suffice or even if you don't want to tell me just say that," Blaine told her.

"Shoot."

"Sebastian's dog is a special dog isn't he, I mean he's not just a pet like the kitten," Blaine said in a questioning tone as that was something he was still thinking about since yesterday.

"That wasn't a question, Anderson," Santana said with a hint of sarcasm. "Please just answer the question, Santana" Blaine said getting a bit exasperated.

"Even though it is none of your goddamn business but yes. Maybe there is something that Ivy League education that you have been working on for last few years is worth of. Now put it to good use and don't behave like an idiot that your ex-husband has become, that is all I have to say."

"Thanks for answering. And I will do my best to do just that."

"You do that cause it's time for us to leave now. There is a birthday party we need to attend today and we haven't even bought a gift so till we meet again...bye" Santana said getting up and collecting her bag.

"Blaine, we really love Sebastian like family and where we are right now in our lives, it wouldn't have been possible if he wasn't present for us whenever we needed him without fail. He is a good man who doesn't wear his heart on the sleeve like you and I do. So please don't hurt him in any way, intentional or otherwise. And just keep on trying to do whatever it takes to make things right and give it time, everything will fall into place when the universe is ready for it" Brittany said in her sagely manner getting up.

"That is some good advice, Brittany. I never knew you all have become so close especially David after the whole 'slushy-gate' and his attempt."

"Another thing you were ignorant of Anderson," Santana said getting her last word. Brittany came over near Blaine, gave him a hug, and whispered her bye. Then both of them turned around and walked out of the patisserie after taking their to-go container of treats that they had ordered earlier before.

Blaine lay there thinking about all the things that he had learned over the course of this weekend. It was like his delicately created reality imploded in the face and he was left alone to pick up the pieces. Times like this is when he had to fight his issues with being alone and working through stuff without backtracking to the person he was a year before.

Even though the girls didn't outright talk about Sebastian's feelings for him but he wasn't that dumb to not read in between the lines. Though Santana didn't say specifically whom the album was about but there was no doubt in Blaine's mind that it was about him. He wasn't sure how he should feel about that now even if it wasn't confirmed by anyone.

Never in his wildest dreams did he ever fathom Sebastian felt that deeply for him. Surely he knew that Sebastian liked him, that he was attracted to him. Hell, he will admit that he knew about his crush on him but never that Sebastian's feelings were so strong for him that he loved him. Blaine had always felt a dangerous attraction towards Sebastian and being with him made him feel so free. Being with Sebastian was fun, exhilarating, adventurous, and downright terrifying because he never thought that Sebastian could give him the security that he always craved from a relationship. Whatever he felt for Sebastian was always kept under a tight lid with a lock and key and he never tried to explore that and now he was regretting that big time. If only he had let go of the dying relationship and given Sebastian a real chance then his life would have been completely different from what it is right now.

Some psychologist he was going to be when he already had his own laundry list of issues and mess of a life to deal with. The only thing that was perfectly going in his life was his education that would be completed soon if everything went smoothly on track.

He decided to take Brittany's advice to heart and contact Riley so sort everything out alone because everything was all in the past and Sebastian has clearly moved on, as should he. He had a lot of stuff now to talk about as the Pandora's box had been already opened that day when he first told her about Sebastian.

But whatever he may have felt or still feels about Sebastian despite both of them being single at present, it would never work out because of the past history involved which still remains unresolved and Sebastian had already moved on.


	11. Chapter 11

On Monday Sebastian had a meeting with his manager Chace and the team about the arrangements for the Oceanic leg of his tour, to discuss the follow-up album and the secret new project he was doing. Sebastian showed him the first draft he had prepared for it and he was told that he was on the right track. Chase looked impressed by the lyrics that Sebastian had come up with according to the brief and it worked with the theme that was told to them.

After concluding his meeting with Chace, Sebastian decided to do some shopping for beaches that he was going to visit in Australia so he checked with Brittany to see if she was free to accompany him. He couldn't wait anymore to know what they had talked about with Blaine. Once Brittany replied that she was free and sent him the address from where he could pick her up; Sebastian informed Henry and Matt about his excursion.

Henry and Matt were identical Samoan twins who were taller and bulkier than him with a no-nonsense attitude that he liked and they had been protecting him for more than a year now. At first, when Sebastian was told that somebody would follow him around in public all the time, he wasn't receptive to the idea. He basically threw a tantrum saying he didn't need anybody to save him and he'd be able to handle it on his own but just a few days later, he got a reality check when he almost got mobbed by fans in a bookstore. Fortunately for him, Henry and Matt already following him covertly and were able to get him out unscathed. Sebastian learned his lesson and now he didn't go out without informing them and somebody accompanying him. It was one of the disadvantages of being famous that people thought he was public property even when he wasn't working. Of course, he loved his fans, he wouldn't be where he is right now if it weren't for them but sometimes it grated his nerves when paparazzi and crazed fans didn't understand the meaning of personal space and common courtesy. Thankfully there weren't many instances where he was pushed to edge as he had learned a lot of patience since living in the public eye.

Once Sebastian was near the address Brittany texted him to pick her up, he informed her to come downstairs. Brittany got inside the car and hugged Sebastian while greeting Henry and Matt who were sitting in the front and she petted Zeus after asking Sebastian for permission.

"Did you have lunch, Britt?" Sebastian asked once the car started moving.

"No, I was thinking we could get something together, " she told him.

"Sure, let's do lunch and then we'll go shopping," he suggested.

"You're really excited for Australia, aren't you Sebby?" Brittany asked after a while.

"I am," he told her and then informed Henry and Matt about their plans for lunch. Matt was driving so Henry made arrangements for them while Sebastian and Brittany talked in the backseat.

"It's a really beautiful country and it's been almost sometime since I visited it last. I had a lot of fun when I went there last"

"I'm so happy for you but you've to send pictures, okay?"

"Of course, I'll make sure Hunter sends you a lot of pictures of the shows and everything else okay"

Once the car stopped, Henry opened the door for them so Brittany got out and then Sebastian and Zeus. They walked inside the restaurant where they were soon seated at the back but their presence had already caused a stir in the other patrons.

Since this was Sebastian's first public outing since moving to New York and the Ellen show, people were documenting their visit on the social media but gratefully nobody dared to interrupt them because of his bodyguards' presence on the both sides.

"Is it always this crazy Sebby?" Brittany asked once they sat down at their table at the back.

"More or less, depends on the occasion and situation."

"I don't think I would ever handle this kind of attention," Brittany noted after a while.

"It has its own pros and cons but then again not everybody is built for this, not that I'm saying I am."

"But you're handling things really well"

"Thank, Britt but now tell me about your meeting with Blaine," Sebastian asked getting to the point about yesterday.

"We met him for coffee and he apologized for that day; he said that he didn't think his actions through and didn't want to hurt you ever and then asked some questions about you..."

"What kind of questions?" Sebastian asked.

"Like who has inspired your album but then we asked about your letter and he said that he didn't get anything from you ever. Santana thinks that Kurt destroyed it before Blaine could find it"

"That could've happened or maybe he never got it in the first place, I mean I wrote it when I was kind of drunk so..."

"Maybe"

"Did you answer his question?"

"Not directly but Santana did tell him that it wasn't about Dillion, he thought it was about him"

"Hmm? Dillion, really? I never said that I loved him," Sebastian said trying to remember if he ever told that to Blaine.

"I don't know but then we both told him that he isn't supposed to contact you anymore and he agreed," Brittany told him.

"Just like that, are you sure Santana didn't threaten him in any way?" he asked with an eyebrow cocked and a smirk in place.

"Of course she did, she wouldn't be her if she didn't" Brittany replied smiling.

"True but you said he asked questions so what were other?"

"He asked about Zeus, asked if he's special so we just said he is"

"Oh... but it's already in the public that Zeus is a service dog so it's fine" Sebastian shrugged.

"I think he has more questions than before, Santana did her best to not say more than necessary but I could see she was losing her cool several times. She cut him so many times that all he could do was sit and listen," Brittany told him.

"Good, sometimes one just needs a little dose of good old Lopez charm but did he say what he wants now"

"He said he wanted to talk but didn't specify about what, he only said he wants to have some kind of closure. I don't know, maybe say his piece"

"Well, I'm not ready for his piece right now..." Sebastian said looking away at Zeus sitting near his feet.

"But you maybe one day," Brittany remarked. "Maybe, I don't know it depends..." he shrugged again.

"Whatever you decide, Santana and I'll support you but he sent this for you" Brittany told him and then took out the envelope that Blaine gave them yesterday, "it has all his contact information to reach him anytime you want, he said that he won't contact you anymore but Santana told him that if he wants to say something, then he can contact us and we'll convey his message to you"

Sebastian just took the envelope from her and replied, "Fair enough."

"Now that you know the basics, let's go shopping," Brittany said changing the subject as she could see how Sebastian's whole demeanor had changed just a few minutes before.

Sebastian asked for the check and while waiting for it, some of his fans approached him asking for photographs with him so Brittany clicked the pictures. He also signed autographs for him but when they were informed that paparazzi had gathered outside, they quickly wrapped up and left.

When they stepped out of the restaurant, paparazzi started throwing questions and clicking pictures.

"Sebastian, Sebastian you look good. Having fun?"

"Do you like New York Sebastian?"

"Did you have a good lunch?"

"Sebastian you look great, who's the friend?"

"Thank you and she's an old friend" Sebastian answered one and got into the car after Zeus and Brittany. They immediately drove away and went for shopping on the other side of town.

Meanwhile, Blaine was sitting in a cafe waiting for Nick and Jeff. They wanted to meet for lunch since Blaine had skipped Sunday brunch with Warblers yesterday. It had become kind of a tradition to meet on Sundays since he left Kurt; at first, it was to cheer him up and then later it became a good way to catch up with everybody and what was going on with them.

He had skipped last minute because Santana had contacted him to meet and Blaine knew that Nick and Jeff would ask him about it. He was hadn't replied to Wes after he tried to talk to him

about Trent's announcement and his abrupt signing off. Wes was like a brother to him and even though he didn't know about 'blaine&sebastian' saga to the full extent but he had some kind of idea of how Blaine felt so it was just a matter of time before he sat down with Blaine and talked about Sebastian's return in Blaine's life in a way.

Blaine was checking his emails when Nick and Jeff sat down across him.

"Hi man, where were you this weekend? Everyone missed you so much. You skipped brunch also, did something happen?" Jeff asked Blaine after putting his bag down.

"Uh..."

"Something did happen, did Kurt come to your place again?" Nick said seeing Blaine hesitate.

"No..."

"Thank goodness, I think you should move in with us. Nathan is moving out to live with Lauren and our place is much nearer to college than yours" Jeff said cutting him in between.

"I'll think about it Jeff," Blaine told him.

"Blaine, you didn't answer why you skipped brunch, is everything okay?" Nick asked as he noted that Blaine still hadn't answered the previous question.

"Um... I... kind of did something this Saturday" Blaine told them looking down after a moment.

"What did you do? Please don't tell me that you hooked up with Kurt?" Jeff questioned before Blaine could complete his sentence.

"Oh god no Jeff, no I didn't hook up with Kurt and why would I do that in my sane mind? Okay, don't answer that" Blaine told him and then mumbled, "I kind of went to meet Sebastian."

"What?" Jeff exclaimed.

"I went to meet Sebastian"

"We heard you the first time Blaine. Did you meet him?" Nick said.

"Yes but very briefly," Blaine told them.

"Where?"

"At his home" Blaine

"You went to his home and you met him," Jeff said after being quite since his shocked reaction.

"Did you talk to him? And how did you find his address?" Nick asked Blaine.

"Nick anybody can find his address, it's basically on the Internet for anybody with a bit of brain, even I know it," Jeff told Nick looking at him like he was being dumb on purpose.

"Fine but did you talk to him," Nick asked Blaine instead of giving Jeff a response.

"No."

"What do you mean that you didn't talk to him, you said you met him in his house. You guys must have talked" Jeff asked not understanding how their meeting must have gone down.

"No, it's not that simple guys. I kind of destroyed my friendship with him by my actions in the past and then on Saturday when Sebastian basically left the room on seeing me in his home" Blaine elaborated.

"We didn't know it was that bad between you guys, you spent so much time together in senior year that we thought you were best of friends but..." Jeff replied understanding.

"We were more than that, I asked him to keep that secret and casual," Blaine told them.

"So you're the reason Sebastian went zombie-hulk after the Valentine's Day," Nick asked out of the blue.

"What do you mean Nick?"

"I think we should do this in front of everybody, I mean it involves them too and they deserve to know everything too. It's better to do this once in front of everybody than doing it several times" Nick said instead of answering Blaine.

"You're right, we should gather everyone at our place in the evening, this is important" Jeff agreed and then proceeded to send a mass text to all the Warblers to meet at their apartment in the evening.

Once everyone gathered at Jeff and Nick's shared apartment, Jeff stood up and said, "So guys, we've called everybody here today because Blaine has done something last weekend that he wants to tell you all so Blaine the stage is yours."

"Really Jeff, dramatic much" Trent replied and added, "but moving on, Blaine what did you do?"

Blaine looked at nobody in particular and took a breath and then said, "Uh... I think before I tell you all what I did last weekend, I should tell you something else that led to what I did?

"Are you in some kind of trouble Blaine?" Wes asked getting a bit worried by Blaine's demeanor.

"No, this is more like a confession I think so please don't interrupt me till I'm done, I just want to get this out and then I'll answer any questions you guys may have," Blaine said trying to relieve Wes's worry and asking for patience from his friends.

"Okay"

"This is about the high school senior year when Kurt and I broke up. You all already know that I cheated on him and then came here to confess and then we broke up."

"We already know this Blaine as you said," Thad said interrupting.

"Let me get to the point Thad and don't interrupt me again please," Blaine said looking at him and then started again, "what you guys don't know that I told Sebastian what happened and we talked really for the first time since we became friends again. He was the first person I really talked about everything that had happened. We had stopped communicating after the slushy incident but that was the first time we really talked after that."

The guys already knew about that but nobody interrupted Blaine; they could sense that whatever it was that Blaine wanted to tell him was weighing heavily on him so they let him continue without interruption.

"After that night, we started spending time together and became friends. I could see that he had changed a lot and I liked that version of him more than the one I first met. He didn't like Hunter at that time because Hunter was basically controlling him and commenting on every move so he'd come out and spend time with me. We started spending time together doing things like friends do, you know hanging out, movies, going to Scandals. He made me come back to you guys and spend time with you."

"I don't think I'm liking where this is gonna go" Beat said again.

"Shh..." somebody chided.

"You continue Blaine," Trent said.

"Then one day we slept with each other after a night of drinking. He didn't force anything or me; we both wanted it. But in the morning when I woke up, I regretted doing what I did even though I wasn't with anybody at that time and at the same time I wanted more so I proposed a secret arrangement to keep sleeping with each other. I said that we'd keep it casual and were allowed to see other people, as that's what I wanted at that time and I thought that Sebastian didn't do serious relationships" Blaine told them.

"How long did it last?" Wes asked.

"Till valentine's day."

"Who ended it?"

"Sebastian did. I got back together with Kurt and I think he witnessed it so he ended our arrangement and our friendship. He told me a couple of days later."

"Were you not happy with him? Did he do something to make you go back to Kurt?" David asked not getting Blaine's reasons.

"No, absolutely not. I was very happy with him and I know that I made a mistake by going back to Kurt. Sebastian had been an absolute gentleman throughout the time and an excellent friend. It was just that Kurt was always in the back of my mind as I adamant to get back with him and when he said that he would give me a second chance, I accepted without thinking. I never gave Sebastian a chance enough to be more; every time I felt like I was growing feelings for him, I'd dismiss them and I treated him badly. I treated him like an option, like a rebound and took him for granted" Blaine told them looking down at his hands and not able to look at anybody now.

"Why're you telling us this now then?"

"Because I'm 99% sure that I'm the reason, Sebastian, just up and left the country and deleted all his contacts so that nobody from Ohio could contact him. He developed feelings for me during our arrangement and I basically broke his heart" he answered.

"He already had feelings for you before that" David said.

"What do you mean?" Blaine asked looking up at him.

"He had the biggest crush on you ever since he saw you" Beat told him.

"Everybody in the room that day when you both first met could feel the sparks going off in a major way," David said.

"And he was totally unhinged after we injured you even though he was trying to show that it didn't matter to him that you got caught in the crosshairs," Thad told him.

"But we already know all that. The real question is why are you confessing this now? Nick? Jeff? You haven't made a single comment till now," Wes said pointing to the obvious question.

"The reason is that after Trent informed us that Sebastian has moved to our city, I went to meet him on Saturday," Blaine told them before Nick or Jeff could say anything.

"What?"

And then Blaine recounted all the events from Trent's news about Sebastian's move to New York to going to his place and meeting him. To say that everybody was kind of shocked by Blaine's actions would be a euphemism.

"Why would you do that Blaine?" Trent asked bluntly.

"I'm sorry Trent, I didn't think everything through and not that it's any excuse but I was kind of raw from my session with Riley and then hearing that he was here all of a sudden kind of sent me on a spiral"

"But you had no right to do that Blaine, what you did is unacceptable," Thad told him showing his displeasure fully for the first time in the evening.

"I know Thad, I know that now," Blaine said looking directly at Thad.

"That's not something you do to someone you consider a friend," Wes told Blaine making him see the wrong in his actions.

"I know Wes and you don't know how sorry I'm for my actions. He didn't even say more than a single sentence to me and left the room. His friends let me out."

"His friends...?" Nick questioned.

Blaine replied looking at everyone, "do you guys remember Dave Karofsky?"

"I think he's the same dude who tried to kill himself back in high school, used to bully Kurt I think" Jeff answered.

"Yeah, he's friends with Sebastian now and Santana and Britt too apart from Hunter"

"Santana and Britt? Your Santana and Britt, who married with you..." Trent said not believing what he heard.

"Yeah, all of them are friends just like we are. Sebastian's tour manager is Hunter's fiancé and Dave has a boyfriend now"

"Wow," Nick said.

"I was so shocked to see them all there and then they defended him so passionately. They looked really close to each other and even Hunter, his fiancé, and Sebastian"

"Did you know that Santana and Britt were in contact with Sebastian?"

"No, if I had even a clue then I'd have..."

"Then what Blaine? Divorced Kurt and chased after Sebastian?" Thad said a bit loudly in a blunt manner. He had enough of today's revelations and a lot was going on his mind now.

"Thad" Wes tried to stop.

But Thad wanted answers now. He stood up and looked at Blaine directly saying, "no, NO. I'm really angry now. I don't know about you guys but I spent more time with Sebastian than any of you did and I know what kind of a person he was. It's because of you Blaine that I lost my best friend and I'm not sure I can look at you right now. He was so heartbroken after Valentine's Day and he couldn't even tell anybody why because he was keeping secrets for you and what did you do? You went in Kurt's arms as soon as he decided to take you back. I could see that Seb had fallen for you and you just played with his feelings. I'm sorry guys but I'm done here."


	12. Chapter 12

Once Thad said his part, he immediately took his keys and left the apartment without looking back even though everybody shouted to stop him.

"He's right, though. I've made a mess of my life and I'm just alienating everybody left and right," Blaine said looking down again.

"Blaine, Thad's just angry right now and shocked too so..."

"I know that but everything he said is true. Whether I knew it at that time or not, intentional or otherwise, I played with Seb's feelings and now because of my actions, he's not a part of our lives."

"Then we make sure he becomes one again," Jeff said being the ever optimist.

"How? Santana point blank threatened me that if I even tried to contact him again, she'd go all Lima heights on me..."

"You're not going to do anything, we are, " Nick told him.

"Yeah. Whatever that was between you and Seb, we were never a part of it" Beat said.

"We were collateral damage but not anymore" David added.

"What are you gonna do guys?" Wes asked trying to handle the situation.

"We're going to contact him," Trent said looking at the guys.

"Don't do anything stupid like Blaine" Wes cautioned them.

"Obviously, we're going to do this the right way" Nick replied.

"How?"

"We could contact Santana and Britt, Blaine said that they're friends with him," Nick said.

"And then ask them to relay our message to Sebastian" Jeff added.

"That could work," David said.

"Guys, he's leaving for Australia soon," Trent told them remembering that detail.

"It's fine, we could always meet after his tour if he agrees. What's few more months if we didn't see him for years" Nick said trying to be reasonable.

While the boys were discussing possible plans to contact Sebastian, Thad had called Quinn, his girlfriend, as he needed somebody to talk about everything he came to know just now.

Quinn said picking up his call, "Hi Thad. I thought you're spending the evening with boys?" "Um... are you at home right now?"

She heard the hint of distress in her boyfriend's voice, which raised concerns to her, "what happened? And no I'm not but I could be in half an hour if you want."

"I want and no, nothing serious happened but I just need to talk to someone"

"Okay then, I'll be at home in half an hour waiting for you so I'll see you soon, take care till then," she told him.

"You too and I'll be there in 45 minutes I guess" "Okay, bye"

Once Thad reached the apartment he was sharing with Quinn for their summer internship, he unlocked the door and found Quinn waiting for him like she had said. He just went to her after putting his keys down and taking off his shoes.

"What happened?"

Just like that, all the floodgates opened and Thad told Quinn everything he learned that evening previous to coming back home. He told her about Blaine's little adventure, Seb's reaction to it, and Seb's new friends. He told her about the first time he met Sebastian and everything after that till the last time he saw him at the graduation ceremony. Quinn just sat there and listened to him without interrupting as she could see that this was something Thad need to do after the evening's revelation. He told her about how Sebastian had gotten after Valentine's Day.

"He was basically zombie half the time and Hulk the rest. We were so worried about him but gave him a wider berth as he was having issues with his parents, we used to hear him shouting in his room" he told her.

"How bad did he get?" she asked.

"I think he stopped going to the gay bar he used to go, only came out of his room for classes and practice. He was just so busy all the time, getting up at the crack of dawn and sleeping well after midnight after running himself ragged the whole day. He stopped making comments like he used to; the only time he'd speak would be for lacrosse and Warbler practice and classes otherwise he'd just ignored basically everyone except for Hunter"

"He wasn't like that when we did the 'Klaine' proposal," she said remembering back to that day a bit vaguely.

"After a month I think, he came back around and started interacting a bit but not like he used to. We were all relieved that whatever it was had passed but now we know what it was. Just imagine how hard must've been for him to take part in that proposal. I don't think I could've done that if I was in his shoes" Thad told her.

"I think he was trying to be happy for the sake of Blaine's happiness," she concluded.

"It must've been tearing him apart, he basically slipped out when Kurt accepted and then we didn't see him again until the graduation ceremony."

Quinn just kept on listening while running her hand through Thad's hair as he told her about his friendship with Sebastian. She could see that her boyfriend was hurting too much and all she could do was comfort him while he told her frustrations with the situation.

"I want to see him," Thad said all of a sudden.

"How?"

" Santana and Britt are his friends. Can you give me Santana's no.?" he asked looking at her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I need to do this for my peace of mind so will you give it to me?"

"Okay but handle this delicately Thad, there are too many emotions in play from your side and I don't want you to get hurt" Quinn cautioned Thad knowing how he was too attached to this situation and how hurt he'd be if things didn't turn out the way he wanted.

"I won't."

Thad immediately called Santana once Quinn gave him the number, "hello Santana, Thad speaking"

"Yeah Harwood. Surprised getting your call I should say, Fabray okay?" Santana replied. "She's fine. Actually, I needed to talk to you" Thad told her.

"Color me intrigued"

"I've come to know that you're in contact with Sebastian"

"I am, so what, " she said dismissively.

"I want to talk to him, so could you make that possible?" he said getting to the point immediately.

"I've to say that Hobbit didn't waste time spreading the news to all the birds but why should I do anything for you. As far as I know, you've not been Sebastian's friends for a few years now so why the sudden change" she asked.

"Santana I'm not playing anything here, I didn't know about the whole 'sebastian&blaine' business but I considered him my best friend and I was really sad to not keep in touch with him. I tried so hard to contact him back then, went to his grandfather's house in Maryland, even sent countless emails for almost a year and what not so when I say I just want to talk to him once, I mean it. I'm just asking you to tell him that I contacted you and I want to talk to him just once" Thad told her.

"And if he refuses, are you gonna stalk him like the hobbit?"

"No, and I don't support Blaine's actions, a lot of them in the past that I didn't know about until this evening and the recent ones too. I didn't know about anything so please"

"He's leaving tomorrow evening so I'm not sure if," she told him.

"I'm in no hurry but if its possible then can you talk him to him soon"

"I'll see what I can do but I make no promises. Nobody makes him do anything so"

"I know that very well."

"Fair enough."

"Thank you," Thad said.

"Don't thank me yet."

Once they ended the call, Thad just put his phone on the table and looked at Quinn, "do you think she'll contact him?"

"I think she will" Quinn replied.

"Will he agree to talk to me?"

"If he's as good as you told me he was then I think he will," she told him.

They just decided to order in after the emotional unloading Thad had done that night. It was an hour later when they were watching a movie when Thad saw an unknown number calling on his phone. He immediately jumped and picked up his phone while Quinn paused the movie.

"Hello"

"Hello, Thaddeus."

"Sebastian?" Thad couldn't believe his ears that he was actually listening to his friend speak after so long.

"Yep" Sebastian replied popping at the end.

"Oh my god Seb, I didn't think you'd call so soon," Thad said not able to stop showing his joy and excitement from getting a call from Sebastian.

"I could call later if you want" Sebastian replied cheekily.

"No no no, it's so great to hear from you. I missed you so much. You've to know I searched for you"

"Santana told me and I'm sorry that I left so suddenly, it's just that..."

"It's okay Seb, I can understand. It wasn't easy for you to be there when everyone was going crazy celebrating the newly engaged couple"

"Yeah..."

"But you've to know that I saw you, I noticed how you hid behind your smile and I'm sorry that I couldn't do anything to make it easy for you"

"Nobody could I think, and even I wasn't making intelligent decisions at that time so" Sebastian replied a bit somber.

"Can I see you before you leave tomorrow?" Thad asked changing the subject.

Sebastian told him, "I'm leaving at 5 in evening, and Santana told me that you're doing your internship at a law firm"

"I could take leave for a day," Thad said thinking.

"And I'll love for you to do that but I'm still kind of preparing for the trip"

"Can't we meet for just an hour?" Thad asked again as he really wanted to see his friend before he left again for months.

"How about you come to my place tomorrow if you're really going to skip work" Sebastian suggested.

"I could do that," Thad agreed.

"Okay then, I'll send you my address and when you arrive, give me a call or won't be allowed inside the building. This number is mine so could you please not give it to anybody?" Sebastian told him.

"Sure, no problem"

"And is there anybody else going to be accompanying you, your girlfriend perhaps?"

"If she does then, is that gonna be a problem?"

"No, just asking. Just wanted to know if any of the boys are a part of this" Sebastian told him to clarify.

"No, only me. I kind of walked out on all of them when I heard what happened this Saturday"

"Oh..."

"It's nothing major Seb, I'll sort it out with them sometime later. Right now I'm just so happy to hear from you after so long and I want to say this that I'm proud of you and everything you've achieved."

"Thank you and I'm glad that I talked to you too but you've to let me go now, I was kind of in between..."

"No problem, I'll come by 10 tomorrow"

"That works for me. Now good night and see you tomorrow"

Thad also bid Sebastian good night and ended the call. He had a real smile for the first time tonight and Quinn could see that the tension that was coiled in her boyfriend's body had dissipated as he talked to his long lost friend. He looked relaxed, elated, and excited for meeting his friend the next day.

"Are you happy now?" Quinn asked seeing Thad really happy for the first time in the evening.

"You don't know the extent of my happiness"

"I can guess"

"I'm going to see him tomorrow," Thad said still not believing.

"You are. And you'll need to call in sick at the office"

"Yeah I do but it's worth it"

"It is if you're so happy, he must be really special"

"He is. He's not everybody's cup of tea, he's like an acquired taste, but he's really special. Now are you going to accompany me tomorrow?" he asked.

"No, I think you should spend some time alone and I'll meet him some other time. After all, he'll be living in the city now and you deserve tomorrow while I handle the office without you for a day" she told him knowing how important this was to Thad and she didn't want to impede in any way.

"Thanks, you're the best"

"Just a question, are you going to inform any of your other friends about this?" she asked.

"No, I'm not. If Seb asks me to inform them then I will but until then I won't. I'm not going to do this like Blaine and suddenly drop surprises on Seb" Thad told her.

"Fair enough."

While in Brooklyn, Kurt was at Rachel's apartment trying to find more about Blaine without raising red flags in her mind so he started with the least suspicious topics.

"So how's your show going on? Are you still going to take a break for your wedding?"

"Show's going on just fine Kurt. And yes, I'm not going to audition near my wedding, I really don't want to handle the stress of auditions during that time" Rachel replied while pouring more wine in her glass.

"And how's the wedding prep going on? Have you started making some decisions?"

"Only thing Brody and I've been able to agree upon, is that we're incorporating both wedding traditions in the ceremony and we want an intimate wedding. Other than that, we're still debating but that's fine as it's almost a year later" she told her.

"But you've to select a venue and decide guest list as soon as possible"

"We're working on it Kurt, we've yet to decide the whole wedding party"

"As your man of honor, I'm a bit more stressed than you as this isn't like you. You're really calm and it's unnerving me," Kurt told her.

"Because if I go crazy, there won't be a wedding then as my dads are going more than crazy on my behalf. But enough about me, how are you?" she asked to inquire how Kurt was doing.

"I'm fine, Ms. Langdon is having me work on a lot of summer shoots so I'm really busy."

"It's great that you were able to get a good job after the whole fashion line fail like I was able to after my own Broadway fail," Rachel said trying to support him.

"Yeah, but I still want to have my own fashion line. I worked on it day and night and still..."

"And it'll happen when it's right. At least now you know what you did wrong at first so you won't repeat it this time. Not every venture is going to pan out."

"You're right but right now my job is half of what it used to be when I worked for Isabella, it's basically being a closet assistant and Ms. Langdon is like the boss from hell. Why did Isabella have to go?" Kurt started with his usual complaint with his job.

"Kurt, you yourself admitted that it was best if she accepted the offer as it was better for her career and I'm sure your boss will warm up to you soon" Rachel replied trying to sympathize.

"It's been a year and, she hasn't"

"Let's talk about something else, how's your dating life?" she asked changing the subject.

"I'm still recovering" he replied again with his usual answer.

"Kurt, it's been half a year now and more than a year since you guys separated, move on now," she told him.

"I have" Kurt replied vehemently.

"Then why aren't you dating someone, I remember you talking about Elias and Chad from that café who asked you out that day," she said remembering about their previous conversations.

"I went with Chad on a date but he's too much into sports and gym, spent all night watching the game," he told her.

"It's ok, but what about Elias? You said he was a friend and you guys have same interests."

"Why are you so excited about me dating? Is he dating somebody now?" Kurt asked getting his easy entrance without even trying.

"Does it matter Kurt? He's moved on and so should you"

"Rachel please tell me if he is, don't tell me the details, just basics."

"We don't talk a lot but whenever we do, he sounds happy and he hangouts a lot with his warbler friends now. I think last time we talked he was going on a date so I think he's moved on" she told him.

"Oh..."

"Kurt, you've to understand that, there is really nothing left between you two. Even the chance of having friendship was out of the window after the divorce proceedings as for the first time in my life, I saw hatred for you in Blaine's eyes."

"But Rachel, I think we still..."

"No Kurt, we've talked about this multiple times now, let him go. It's best for all the parties involved" she said firmly to make him understand the situation.

"I'm trying but it's not easy. He's been a part of my life for more than a better part of a decade so it's hard to just cut ties" Kurt told her.

"But you need to, you obsessing about him and what's going in his life will eventually hurt you in the end. It's time you focus on your life and your career like he's doing on his without thinking about you."

Meanwhile, in Manhattan, Blaine was having another session with Riley where he had confessed to her about everything that happened in past few days.

"Now you're sure that Sebastian had feelings for you?" Riley asked.

"Yes, after my talk with Santana and Brittany and then my friends, I'm sure" Blaine replied with clarity.

"And what are you going to do about this information?" she asked trying to find his intentions.

"Nothing, I'm going to wait for him to make the first move, if he wants to be friends again, I'll take that and if he wants to take it further, I'll take that too but I'm not taking lead this time, the ball's in that and if he wants to take it further, I'll take that too but I'm not taking lead this time, the ball's in his court" he told firmly.

"Fair enough, but what if he never makes any move?"

"Then he'll just be my biggest regret of my life and I'll always wonder what we could've been."

"And what do you feel about him?" Riley asked.

"After last few days, I think I can safely say that I felt for him more than friends and I could've fallen for him just as easily. I won't say I loved him, as that would be insulting love after how I betrayed him. But at present, all I feel is guilty and I wish I could tell him how sorry I am for everything I said and done. I didn't expect him to understand love because of his attitude, I didn't value his feelings, in essence, I dismissed them and he didn't deserve any of it" Blaine told her.

Blaine looked like he was deep in thought so Riley let it sink in for some moments, "And will you ever be satisfied with just being friends with him if he ever agrees to that?"

Blaine's eyes went to the Eiffel tower figurine behind Riley again and he sat there thinking for a while, "I don't think so, he's never been 'just friends' with me but beggars can't be choosers."

"Blaine, don't you think you're being too emotional here."

"You can say that, but no," he told her but then added after a moment, "I think we don't understand the importance of anything till it's taken away from us and that way, he's too important."

"Blaine, don't go entering in the obsessive territory" Riley started to caution him seeing the conviction in his eyes.

"Riley, I'm not obsessed, I'm not sitting at my home whole night searching everything on him. I'm just more enlightened now about the things I was earlier ignorant of, but I still understand what's wrong and what's right even though my actions have been a bit questionable. I still have the grip on reality."

"That's all I ask, I don't want you to set up yourself for failure intentionally when you're making progress. You've to keep in mind that he's not the same person he was back in high school, his life has changed and so has his world. He may have loved you back then but he may not even care about you now, can you cope with that?" Riley asked.

"I'd have to if that's the case but I don't think he's that kind of a person" he replied after thinking for a bit.

"Many people may say otherwise," she said.

"But they don't know him like I do. He's really different from who people see him as; even though he might have changed but inherently he's must be still the same. Even when people change, they don't become new entities altogether, just an extension of who they used to be."

"You need to remember that but also keep in mind that you may not know him anymore so don't assume anything, it's what has got you to this place. Think about that but our time is up now."


	13. Chapter 13

Thad locked his apartment once Quinn got out and then both of them walked together to the subway station. Today was the first day in this summer when they weren't going to the same destination.

Once he reached the address Sebastian texted last night, he looked up at the building in front of him. He immediately called Sebastian to inform him that he was at the entrance and Sebastian let him up. The elevator had private access and it had taken him to Sebastian's floor. When the doors opened, Thad saw Sebastian waiting for him in the foyer.

"Wow" was all Thad could say.

"I know it's beautiful," Sebastian said with his ever-present grin.

"No. Yes. I mean…" Thad tried to tell him that he wasn't talking about the surroundings but finally he just asked, "Can I hug you?"

Sebastian just nodded and opened his arms with a laugh, "Yeah man."

Thad immediately hugged him and mumbled getting a bit emotional again, "Don't do this to me ever again. Okay? I missed you so much. You aren't allowed to do this ever again"

Sebastian was seeing this aspect of Thad for the first time in his life. Thad was like him, not used to show weakness and need for things but he could see that his absence had caused his friend a lot of sadness, "I missed you too."

Sebastian let Thad keep him in an embrace for as long as he wanted and gave him time to calm himself. Sometimes a hug did wonders to soothe the turmoil of mind and heart. Thad had been his roommate for the junior year and he knew that he considered him one of his best friends. He was one of the few people Sebastian genuinely wanted to keep in contact but he didn't.

"You look great and the place is great too," Thad said once he looked around.

"Thanks man, and you look quite good yourself. Now let me introduce you to someone. Come on" Sebastian said and then took Thad's hand and led him to Lily, "this is Miss Lily, she takes care of me and my house. Miss Lily, this is Thad Harwood, my friend and former roommate at Dalton" he introduced.

"Hello ma'am, it's a pleasure to meet you," Thad said.

"Likewise and please call me Lily" Lily replied.

Lily then went back to whatever she was doing before and Thad saw the living room and said, "your home is really beautiful."

"Thanks, let me give you a tour then first"

"You have a cat and a dog," he said seeing Zeus and Halo following Sebastian around.

"Yeah, I do. This is Zeus and this little fur ball is Halo, he's a pseudo puppy" Sebastian said picking up Halo in his hands.

Even though the home looked straight out of a decor magazine but there were photographs lining the walls filled with people close to Sebastian, some artwork that was gifted to him over the years, some childhood photographs, some recent pictures like concert portraits and award show pictures. It didn't look like a show home or a museum; there were Halo and Zeus's toys lying around, various books and stuff casually left waiting to be picked up. It looked liked a house lived in despite its huge size for a single man.

They did the whole tour and ended at Sebastian's bedroom. Thad was in awe of the home and could see how it was an extension of Sebastian's personality. It was brimming with elegance and midcentury modernism that reflected his upper-class upbringing yet there were a lot of really modern unique pieces.

"Where are your awards?" Thad asked not seeing even one of Sebastian's awards in his whole tour. He knew that even though Sebastian had arrogance in him that people who assume he'd keep his awards in general vicinity for everyone to see when they came to his house but he knew the truth that Sebastian wasn't like that. He had proved time and time again and he didn't need those awards to show his achievements. Those who entered this place already knew about those even before they stepped a foot inside.

Sebastian just answered, "They're in my studio."

Thad asked, "Why haven't you shown me that then?"

"I will after I put all my luggage downstairs. I was still packing for Zeus when you came" Sebastian told him.

"Oh… do you want some help? I could take the bags down or something," Thad asked.

Sebastian replied while walking towards his walk-in closet, "just let me pack everything and then we'll take it all down. You can sit down, it'll just take a few minutes"

Thad just nodded and sat on the chair near the large floor to ceiling windows so that he wasn't in the other man's way while he packed.

"We'll talk about me later, how's your life?" Sebastian asked Thad.

"I'm still in law school. So once I complete that, I'll give the bar and then start practicing."

"And what about your girlfriend?"

"Quinn's a law student too. We actually met at Yale but she's a year senior to me. I love her and we've been together for four years now"

"Good for you man, good for you. And are you guys gonna move here or…" he inquired.

"We're going to move here after I'm done with law school, that's why we're interning in the city so that we could have a job after we graduate," Thad told him.

"That's a wise move, I also interned at a law firm after my first year of college just to know if I wanted to be really a lawyer or not. And I found out that I didn't really like the monotony I guess, I'm just too creative minded" Sebastian told him shrugging.

Thad asked, "then why did you study law in college?"

"Majorly because of my father but I also liked it. Where exactly do you get paid to argue but then I kind of liked roaming around traveling and performing more than arguing so" he shrugged.

"Well, it all worked out just fine for you. You have a bachelor's degree in Law from a prestigious university even though you may not use it and a completely different successful career. Not many people can say that"

"You don't know how many times I thought I should just drop out of college while I was sitting with my broken leg at home."

"Really?" Thad asked not believing.

"Yeah, if you don't believe me then ask Hunter. But every time I was a step away from doing so, my father's voice would ring in my head and I'd stop."

"But why would you want to drop out?"

Sebastian asked directly looking at Thad, "Let me ask you something, basically why do you need a college degree?"

"To get a job, to earn money"

He said, "exactly. I'm not saying this to brag but I had already found what I wanted to do, I was making money off of it. It wasn't like I was going to become a lawyer anymore so why not do something to make more money rather than wasting it on college tuition."

"You make an excellent point but do you regret not dropping out?"

"Now, I don't but earlier I used to; majorly after an accident and having a broken leg, I had a lot of time on my hand and nowhere to go."

"I don't think I ever thought that you'd be the one who'd want to drop out from college"

Sebastian just said which Thad couldn't help but agree; "sometimes people just surprise you when you least expect it"

"That they do." Thad said a minute later, "You're changed, but still you're you."

"Care to clarify," Sebastian asked in his cocky manner.

"You still have the cocky swagger and have a confidence about yourself but there's a certain calmness about you that is so infectious I think. You've opened to me but I know you're guarding yourself, which I think is okay as a lot of your life is accessible to the public. But what I'm trying to say is that before seeing you today, I didn't know what to expect, I was excited, nervous even but as soon as I saw you, I think I could feel calm and like everything will be fine"

"You sound like a girl Harwood" Sebastian added with a smirk.

"Make fun of me if you want but that's the truth"

"Well, fun aside, I'm at a place in my life right now where I'm just going with the flow and not trying to make major changes. I like where I am and I absolutely love it, I don't have a lot of regrets and I have a great support system to fall back on if something happens. When I met everybody back in high school, I was the new fish in the aquarium with a lot of pressure to perform with nothing to anchor myself to. I was at a really bad place in my mind and even in my life, I didn't know who to trust and everybody was already in love with a ghost so I had a lot of pressure to prove myself from a lot of sides and I made some really bad decisions one after the other. On top of that, my actions resulted in some pretty bad consequences so all together, it was just a hard time" he told him.

Thad couldn't help him but ask, "I get that but why didn't you talk to anybody, you could've talked to me. I considered you my best friend, you were my roommate too."

Sebastian said without a hint of fabrication, "Thad, when I met you, I had been burned before coming to Dalton. I had recently lost somebody who was really close to me and I hadn't really processed it properly. I'm not saying this as an excuse for my actions and behavior but they were one of the reasons. And I haven't been really good at showing weakness."

"I understand and I agree, you never liked showing weakness. You just hid behind your arrogance, smirks and that ever-present grin like everything was sunshine and rainbows but why did you leave all of a sudden. Why didn't you keep in contact? I get that you didn't want to be in the same college as Blaine, hell same city as him but you could've kept contact with others if not Blaine" Thad said understanding where Sebastian was coming from.

To which Sebastian replied after some time, "I don't have a definite answer for you, I'm sorry Thad, but I don't. I think I needed to cut myself clean, it was taking too much energy trying to hold on, and I just couldn't. You know when something gets infected too much; you don't have any other option but to amputate. That's what I had to do to keep going on. I tried to do a clean break earlier but it didn't work so I had to just…"

"You loved him that much?" Thad asked.

"Maybe more than I should have and more than he deserved," Sebastian said truthfully trying not to show his true emotions too much in his voice.

"You still do" Thad concluded.

Sebastian said trying to dismiss, "I guess it's what people say about first love."

"It's not just that."

"I don't even know what it is anymore. I just know that I've spent too much energy on him" he told him.

"So your album is really about him," Thad asked trying to confirm his suspicions.

"Yes but not all of it, and I just confirmed you because you know me too well and I trust you to keep that information to yourself. Not a lot of people know that and if media got a whiff of something like that, I'd have a scandal on my hands that I don't wish to have" Sebastian told him in a no-nonsense manner.

"I can respect that so you can be assured that my lips are sealed. And I won't even say anything to anybody about what we talk here, not even Quinn" Thad assured him.

"You can tell her the general knowledge I guess, just not the sensitive stuff. I don't know her like I know you."

"Fair enough"

Sebastian couldn't help himself and ask, "You really didn't know about Blaine's little adventure?"

"Nah man, I was so shocked when he told everybody that I didn't even say anything for a minute I think."

"Wow"

Thad had to ask, "Seb, if he came back in your life right now and said that he loves you or wants to love you, would you take him back?"

"I don't know. When I wrote my first album, I'd just broken up with my only long-term boyfriend and when I started writing these songs, somehow they just started getting inspired by him instead of my ex-boyfriend. And now that I sing them almost every night, I feel like I get transported back so I don't know. If somebody had asked me before I did my album, I'd say an absolute no but now and especially after seeing him, I just don't know" Sebastian replied truthfully after thinking for a while.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you break up with your boyfriend?"

"He wanted different things than what I wanted and somewhere I think I always tried to be who I wasn't when I was with him in fear that he'd also leave me so it was better that we broke up."

"Did he know about Blaine?"

"Not in a detailed manner but yeah he knew the general gist."

"And why aren't you dating anybody now?"

"I just don't have time and patience for it, I'm not even in the same city for more than a week so who exactly should I date and when & where do I meet them. Touring and dating don't exactly do well in a new relationship when you're under living under the camera lens all the time. Now if you're done with my lack of relationship, can we take this luggage down? I'm done here and getting hungry"

"Sure."

Meanwhile, Blaine received a message from Brittany while he was traveling where he was interning asking if he was free to meet. He was intrigued to know why so he informed her that he was free for lunch in the nearby café.

When she arrived, they hugged each other and said their hellos, "hey Britt, what can I do for you?"

"Actually I wanted to talk about how you were doing. That day Santana lost it a bit too much and I wanted to say sorry for that and see if you were okay?" Brittany asked.

"I'm okay actually. I could see that Santana was angry with me but I deserved it too and since she never said anything before, it all exploded once she was able to. You don't have to worry about it, no apologies needed" Blaine told her.

"And how are you doing actually, you know with your therapist if you don't mind…"

"Good. I've told everything to everyone in my life now, there are no secrets on my chest now."

"Your warbler friends you mean?"

"Yes"

"How did that go?"

"As well as it could be expected. They were, of course, angry at first but them once we talked it out, I'd say things are okay. They were shocked as we did everything under their nose and nobody knew. All everyone wants is that Sebastian joins us back but we won't force anything."

"Your friend Thad called last night, asked for Seb's number," Brittany told him remembering about last night.

Though Blaine was surprised but he just asked, "Really? Others were planning the same thing."

"They're meeting today at Seb's place," she told him.

"That's good," Blaine remarked.

"Blaine, you've to know that Sebastian isn't actually angry with you and neither is Santana. She's just a bit more like him and they're really good friends so she's a bit more protective of him" Brittany tried to explain the situation.

Blaine just nodded but then asked something that had been bothering him since he last saw Santana and Brittany, "if you guys are such good friends with Sebastian, then why did you guys say yes to share your wedding day with Kurt and me?"

"Because you guys were our friends too and we wanted you to have what we were having. We didn't really know how Seb really felt for you till it was too late and at that time, we thought he had moved on. He never told anyone about anything till a lot later."

Blaine couldn't help but ask, "When did you find about it then?"

"Honestly, after our wedding."

"How later?"

Brittany told him, "He was there for the wedding but he left as soon as he wished us and gave his gift, we didn't talk at that time but later Santana confronted him and he told us."

"Is this after the first Christmas after the wedding, when Santana was a bit standoffish with Kurt and me?" he asked remembering back to that time.

"Yes, Sebastian actually came to new york for holidays that year."

"Oh"

"It's okay Blaine, nobody really blames you for following your heart at that time, everyone was doing the same. At 18, you don't really know what you're doing and you hurt people you don't ever want to but what matters is that you make things right. I'm not saying that you did nothing wrong, you did and you know what it is. But what matters now is how you move forward."

Blaine listened to her and agreed, "You're right Britt, Wes and others told me the same thing yesterday. I just wish that I respected Seb the same way he respected me. The least I could do was tell him directly before patching up with Kurt, he didn't deserve to witness that out of the blue."

"That is between the two of you. We don't really know all the specifics so I can't comment."

"Do you think he'll ever talk to me again?"

"I'd say there is a good chance. I don't think this awkwardness is gonna last long."

"From your mouth to god's ears. I really want to talk to him again, at least to say sorry once"

"It's good to see at least one of us is happily married," Blaine said after a while.

"That I am but I think Santana and I work so well because we're best friends first and partners second. We support each other instead of trying to one-up each other. We've given each other space to grow and I'm lucky to have Santana who has never tried to change me, she accepts me as I am. A lot of people would've cast me as stupid but she listens to me and let me grow at my own pace; under her love, I've been able to achieve the best version of me and I wish each of my friends can experience that."

"You truly have the biggest heart Britt and you're a great friend. I know that you are friends with Seb and it's…"

Brittany interrupted him, "Blaine, just because I'm friends with him doesn't mean you're not my friend. As much as I care about him, I care about you too and I know you're hurting equally here, maybe more. And as for Santana, she'll come around, at the end; you're her favorite hobbit. You know how she is, it's just she sees herself in Seb, and essentially they're the same person. They don't know how to show their emotions as well as we do."

"Someday I'd like to hear how they became friends, actually scratch that, I'd love to hear how you all became friends. You guys are an unlikely group."

"Sebastian decided to create his own super villain gang like you made superhero club in McKinley"

Blaine couldn't stop himself, "Really?"

"Just joking, Sebastian actually helped me with my Julliard application and audition. He also tutored me when I had to repeat the year" she said laughing.

"Nobody at McKinley or Dalton knew about this I think?"

"I guess it's not just you who used to sneak around with him, is it?" she added cheekily, "It's almost an hour now, I've classes after this so I need to go now. I had a great lunch today, and Blaine, don't worry, everything will sort out one way or another."


	14. Chapter 14

Sebastian and Thad spent time talking about everything and catching up about what was happening in each other's life. Thad filled him about what was really going on with the Warblers and how most of them were around the city. Some were going to graduate schools and some were working in the city. Even some of the seniors were in New York.

"Can I ask you something related to Blaine?" Thad asked.

"Since I've confessed other stuff, sure. Ask away" Sebastian shrugged.

"Did you ever regret anything that happened between you guys?"

"No." he answered but Thad looked at him to elaborate more, "And that's because even though we didn't work out the way I imagined it would, he was exactly what I needed at that time. And before you ask me if I'm angry with him, the answer is also no."

"Really?" Thad exclaimed.

"Thad, just because I had feelings for him, loved him, it doesn't mean he has to reciprocate them. He never said that it would go anywhere, or turn into something more. Technically he played by the rules, I was the one who fucked up my end. Every time we talked, I could clearly see that he would never be mine, that he'd never choose me, yet I wanted to play with fire. So if I got my hand burnt, it's nobody's fault but mine. He was too invested in Kurt and I never said anything to tell him that I wanted more, he made his decision based on what he knew and what he could see, and he chose what was safer. It's the human characteristic that we fear the unknown and stick to the known. I can't fault him for that, I just wish he gave me some notice before going to Kurt, that's all."

"You know, I'd accept everything you just said if it didn't feel like it was something you have accepted just to lessen the magnitude of your hurt and anger. Love is not technical, there are no set rules, and moreover, I'd say that it's the biggest unknown there is."

Sebastian said after some time, "You know what the best part about one-sided love is?" Thad shook his head in negative so he added, "it's not divided between two people, and nobody else can claim it as theirs but you, that's the beauty of it."

"I never thought I'd hear this kind of talk from you"

"Ironic isn't it? Me talking about love and writing songs about love and heartbreak is like Jeff trying to be Voldemort but I guess nothing is impossible"

"I'm sure Jeff trying to be Voldemort is pretty impossible but are you really not angry with Blaine for the other day?

"Not really, once I calmed down, I knew that I would've not reacted the way I did if I wasn't so shocked. We were talking about everything and everyone an hour before and then boom, Blaine was there so it kind of…"

"You were talking about us?" he asked.

Sebastian told him, "Yeah. Thad, I might've been the one who decided to leave everyone behind but I never forgot anyone of you."

"I just feel like the warblers became children in midst of a divorce," Thad remarked.

"That's a way to describe the situation."

"But it's okay now. We all missed you and even Hunter, as surprising as that can be to you guys," Thad told her.

"Well I'm here and I'd be happy to reconnect but you've to give me time. I'm not even going to be in the country for next few months so we'll have to work something out till then and I'm sure Hunter will like that too."

"Can I come to drop off you guys if that's not an issue, I don't want to part so soon…" Thad asked.

"You can but we're driving to Teterboro so how will you come back?" Sebastian asked.

"I'd manage," he said.

"You know what, you can come with us and we'll get somebody to drop you back, " he told him.

Lily informed them couple hours later that Natasha had come and was waiting for him downstairs. Once Sebastian and Thad went downstairs, introductions were made and then all of them took the elevator to the underground garage where others were waiting for the departure.

Hunter and Thad had their reunion and Sebastian introduced Thad to others and soon they left for the airport. Once they reached the hangar, Thad saw that they were flying private so they stayed in the car talking while the luggage was loaded.

"Flying in style, huh Seb?" Thad commented looking out of the car window.

"Yeah, I don't do this often but since it's such a long flight and the family jet was free, I thought why not" Sebastian shrugged.

"Not that you can't afford your own."

Sebastian just smirked in response so Thad asked another thing that he wanted to ask earlier, "why do you call Lily Miss Lily while everyone calls her by name?"

"Because that's what I've been calling her since I was a baby, she's like a mom to me"

"Oh... I didn't know that she has been in your life for so long."

"Not a lot of people do. She's the only person in my life who has been there for me ever since I was born and no my father doesn't count" he told before Thad could interject.

Thad didn't ask anymore, as this wasn't the time to get into heavy talks. They had all the time to do that now they were talking again. Sebastian proceeded to give him his private contact and other social media details so that Thad could contact him now. He even told him to contact Santana so he could get access to his place as his other friends had planned to fully enjoy it this summer in his absence.

Once they were informed that they were ready to board, Sebastian got out and immediately went to board with Zeus instead of lingering outside. Thad also followed him after talking to Hunter and Natasha, he saw more people inside who were settling around. Introductions were made and then they were soon informed that they were ready to take off.

"Go make everybody proud and send a lot of pictures okay?"

"Of course and Thad, I missed you too, a lot. I wish I didn't have to go so soon but we'll keep in touch. You can send me text and I'll reply as latest as possible when I get the chance"

"No problem, I know that you're going to be busy. This day has been one of the best so far and I couldn't ask for more"

"You're sounding like a sap now Harwood" Sebastian couldn't help himself.

"Shut up smartass, now give me a hug," Thad said opening his arms.

"If only the boys could see you now, I'm sure they won't believe me when I'd tell them that you're one step away from crying"

"Fuck you" Thad chuckled.

"You wish" Sebastian retorted with a chuckle of his own.

Thad knew that Sebastian was trying to lighten the mood and give him time to deal with everything. Sebastian might not show that this was affecting him too but Thad knew his friend's talent of deflection. Everybody else was giving the duo space to say goodbye and soon Thad was told that it was time.

He stepped down from the jet and then soon it took off and Thad was on his return journey to his apartment. What they didn't know was that the paparazzi were documenting their activities and soon the Warblers knew about Thad's visit to the airport. Not only the Warblers were in the know now, Kurt also found out that one of the Warblers was in touch with the Meerkat.

"Of course, it's not even a week and people are going out of their way to see him off to the airport like he's some royalty."

"Kurt, what're you snapping about? Ms. Langdon is waiting for the wardrobe samples for the shoot this week."

"Yeah, Simone. I'm taking the rack in a second, just let me get one piece that was left"

As Kurt was rolling the rack down the hallways, he knew that he had to come up with a plan to find if Blaine was also in contact with the Meerkat now or not. If he was, then Kurt had to double his efforts as once the Meerkat had his claws in Blaine then it'll be much harder to get Blaine's attention.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, the Warblers got into a tizzy after Trent posted the photos with Thad and Sebastian together on the airport.

Nick: how did this happen?

Jeff: somebody get some answers.

Wes: boys, don't go all guns blazing with your questions. Let me get some information from Thad and we'll talk then.

Jeff: ok.

Wes called Thad hoping that he'd get some answers and fortunately for him, Thad picked his call on the third ring, "Yeah Wes, what can I do for you?"

"Are you traveling somewhere?" Wes asked as he could hear traffic noise in the background.

Thad answered truthfully, "Yeah, to my apartment actually"

"From the airport perhaps?"

"Why yes, I am? Is that an issue?" he asked coolly.

"No it isn't but I just wanted to know when did you get in touch with Sebastian?" Wes said getting directly to the point.

Thad then proceeded to tell Wes about how he got in touch with Sebastian through Santana with Quinn's help. He also told him that they had come up with the idea of group video chat with everybody since Sebastian was leaving for months.

"What about Blaine?" Wes asked trying to clarify where did Blaine stand in all this.

"Honestly Wes, we talked about him but whatever we talked about is in confidence and I can't answer certain things"

"I can accept that. I just want to know that if Blaine comes in the same category as other Warblers or not"

"He does but I'd suggest that Blaine shouldn't be the one who contacts him. He's not angry with him but the best step forward will be to let him come to us than crowding him. This is for all of us and especially for Blaine."

"I hear you and I'll talk to everybody as well as Blaine. We'll give Sebastian his space, the ball's in his court"

"As it should've been"

"Fair enough. Now tell me if you're still angry for last night?"

"I wasn't angry at anybody but at the situation and Blaine's actions. I'm not even angry with Blaine but intentional or not, he made some pretty bad decisions that led me to loose my best friend" Thad told him.

"Blaine's really sorry for everything he did, he still is. After you left last night, he told us everything and I could see that he regretted everything he did. His actions have cost him a lot more than they did to all of us in sense"

"And I don't disagree, he probably lost the best thing ever happened to him"

"I think I agree with you there"

"You weren't there Wes, when they first met, it was like a cosmic collision of sorts. I was there when Blaine met Kurt and I was there when he met Sebastian and let me tell you, the latter had fireworks going off big time. There might've been a few seconds I thought that Kurt was the one for Blaine but when I saw Seb with Blaine that first day talking for hours just after meeting for the first time, I knew that Kurt could never match Seb."

"Then why did you take part in the proposal?"

"Because my friend, the one thing Sebastian is a master at is faking it till making it. He fooled us all into believing that nothing was going on, even when he got his heartbroken. Once he got better; we all including me thought that if Seb doesn't care about the proposal and can take part, we could too. Moreover, I didn't want to bring up anything that could break whatever he was trying to sell. I wish you were there after Valentine's Day, it was like somebody died for few days and then snap, everything was back to how it was pre- valentine's day"

"The guys told me yesterday about it but Thad, maybe it did. Maybe he really got over it"

"If he really did then why did he suddenly slip out after the proposal once Kurt agreed and then leaving town as soon as he was done with the graduation ceremony and that's not even counting his chinks in the armor. His not talking, not commenting at every chance, not partying, not being him anymore."

"If you noticed these things then why didn't you talk to anybody?"

"And tell them what? I didn't even know the cause of his despair and tell whom exactly? And Wes, the only reason I actually noticed all this because I was basically with him all the time at school apart from when he'd be in his dorm room."

"I didn't know that it was that bad"

"That's the point, Wes, nobody did. But now, he's finally happy and I'd like to keep it that way. So it's better that everybody keeps his or her issues with him on the back burner. I suggest that when everybody does talk to him, they shouldn't bring up the past over and over again till he does it first or it's needed to be sorted out."

"I think you're right about that but you should be the one who tells everybody about this considering you're the one who talked to Sebastian"

"I could do it on the Sunday brunch as I've plans every day before that so I won't be able to meet everyone before then."

"Works for me and I'll talk to the guys"

"And don't worry, I'll leave a text on the group chat too"

"Much appreciated Thad and I'll let you go now. Good night."

"Good night."

Even though he was still a bit miffed with Blaine, he wanted what was best for all parties involved. And both Sebastian and Blaine were his friends and from what he saw till now, he was sure that they both were meant to be together. Sure there was always undeniable chemistry between them, timing had been a bitch back then. But now, the time was finally right and he needed to play the role of mediator and even a bit of matchmaker for his friends. So he decided to call Blaine.

Blaine answered, "Hello Thad, what can I do for you?"

"Hi Blaine, I just called to talk to you about last night. I wanted to apologize for my outburst yesterday, it's just that…"

"It's okay Thad, no apologies needed. It's not like anything you said was wrong, I deserved every bit of your anger for what I did, in fact, I should say sorry" Blaine interrupted.

"It's fine Blaine. Honestly, I shouldn't have reacted that way without knowing all the facts. I actually met Sebastian today and we talked about a lot of things and now I know better how things went down back then. You did what you felt was right for you and I accept that" Thad told him.

"What I thought was right for me didn't exactly turn out that way, in the long run, did it? And it has left lasting side-effects in my life and several others"

"That it has but you shouldn't loose hope now, everything will turn out fine."

Blaine sighed, "Thad, Sebastian doesn't even want to see my face right now, I'm pretty sure it'll be years before we'll see eye to eye."

"Now Blaine, that's a bit over-dramatic, the situation isn't that bad as you think it is. Maybe it's for the better that this time the tables are turned. I talked with him today and he said he's not mad at you, he was just shocked so I'm sure when we'll do a group video chat or something, he'll talk to you too"

"Brittany said the same thing today but I'm not raising my hopes just yet"

"Fair enough. I've to let you go now so good night but do think about what I said"

Blaine said his bye as he was walking back to his apartment building in the evening. As much everyone said that Sebastian wasn't angry with him but he knew in his heart that it wasn't completely true. He thought if Sebastian was at least angry with him, he'll have that much, as right now, he felt like a stranger to him. If he was really okay with everything then he would've at least told to him by a text if nothing else. Sebastian had all his contact details and every time Blaine's mobile chimed, he got hopeful that it was Sebastian but it wasn't. So no, Blaine didn't really believe they were going to be okay.

He decided to take a walk in the park in front of his building instead of going directly to his apartment, not that there was anything waiting for him there. He walked around for some time in the park thinking about everything and nothing and then sat down after a while.

Blaine had changed his life in many ways since leaving Kurt last year and for the first time in his life; he wasn't dependent on anybody else for anything. No parents, no brother, no boyfriend, or husband, no friends even in a sense for a while, and that had presented him with a whole new world.

For the first time in his life, he actually didn't feel alone even though he was. The first week after he left Kurt, he basically sent a text to everybody saying that he was fine, he'd get in touch soon and not to worry, he'll be back soon and then created a whole new life for himself. He got a new apartment on his own, shopped for himself on his own, cooked and ate alone and it felt therapeutic in a way to go off-grid and be actually alone.

Weirdly, he wasn't devastated on catching Kurt with his lover in their home, it just felt like he always knew in a way. He felt free more or less like he wasn't chained to the rhythm anymore like he finally got a reason to leave Kurt without having his conscience putting up reasons to go back to him again and again. It had been a breakthrough that Blaine desperately needed to get back to living life and not just bending and taking it without a fight. As that's what it had become for their marriage in the end, fights, and compromises. They'd fight about everything from finances to fashion sense and then Blaine would give up most of the time to get a shred of peace.

As Blaine was sitting on the bench, he felt somebody standing near him and when he looked on the side, he saw his ex-husband.

"Hello Blaine, fancy seeing you here," Kurt said standing directly in front of Blaine.

Blaine said with a bit of snide in his voice, "Hey Kurt, I can't say the same for you."

"Having an evening walk alone in the park instead of hanging with your friends?"

"I don't think it's any of your business" Blaine replied crossing his arms in front of him.

"You're always my business, " Kurt said.

"Not anymore, we're divorced, Kurt. Let me go, you signed on the papers remember?" Blaine said standing up now.

"Because you forced me and I wanted to show that I'd for anything for you, that I was so sorry for my actions but I never wanted that divorce"

"It doesn't matter if you didn't, we're divorced now"

"It must've been great to catch up with everybody on Sundays now huh?"

"Again Kurt, don't act like you ever gave a shit about my friends. And yes it's great to catch up with my friends now that I don't have to face interrogation every time I go out"

Kurt had to ask; "even the prodigal son is back in the fold now?"

"Why do you care? And yes, he is" Blaine answered smugly knowing it would irk Kurt to no extent. Kurt always hated how Sebastian was always wanted even when he left those boys behind while they never liked Kurt's presence even when he was present there. It was one of the reasons he hated those Warblers and their absent ring leader.

"Of course he is. Is he more pompous now, flaunting his wealth?"

"Can we not do this? You don't give a shit about him so don't."

"What? I was just curious" Kurt replied as if he was genuinely interested.

"Now that we're actually talking about him, I have a question for you. Did you ever open any of my mail and not give it to me afterward?" Blaine asked remembering about the letter that Santana talked to him about.

"Not that I remember. Why does it matter? Did the Meerkat send you love letters that didn't reach you? I knew that he wouldn't just give up like that" Kurt lied even though he had gotten his hands on it and destroyed it.

"Enough Kurt, it's been years since you saw him and he never did anything to you directly so can you stop calling him names now."

Kurt didn't reply and acted like he didn't hear what Blaine said just now.

"Whatever. And why are you even here? You don't live in this part of the city. Are you stalking me or something? Kurt, please stop this, we're never going to be together again" Blaine said after not getting a reply from the other man.

"Come on Blaine, we both know you don't mean that. When are you going to forgive me for the same mistake I forgave you for in the past" Kurt replied defiantly.

"Kurt, can we please not do this again? I've already told you that its two different things. I had not even one serious make-out session with a stranger for one evening, I didn't even take off all my clothes, and on the other hand, you had a full-out affair that lasted for quite some time. I was so guilty for my mistake that I flew here to tell you immediately and you, I found out about your sordid affair but catching you red-handed in our home. I wouldn't have found out about it for I don't know how long if I hadn't come back early that day. So, Kurt, they are not the same things," Blaine told him.

"I get it they're not but don't you see how miserable we both are without each other. You said that day in court that you've to set love free sometimes and if it's yours, it'll come back. I love you, Blaine, I still do, and I know that you're just in denial."

"You don't know me anymore Kurt, you haven't for a long time now"

"It doesn't matter, I know that you're not dating anybody because you're still in love with me. You still have the same number. You have it because you still hope that one day we'll talk to each other. Come on Blaine, don't you see that these are signs that show that you're still connected to me and want us to be together."

"You know what I think its time I showed you I'm done with you and don't want anything with you. I don't want you back ever, I don't love you anymore, and I haven't for few years. I'm going to my home and if you follow me, you won't like the consequences. And don't try to contact me ever again. Sebastian was always right about you and I was a fool to never listen to him but not now, its still not too late" Blaine said moving away from Kurt ready to leave the conversation.

"And what now? You're going to go in his arms now that he's here" Kurt mocked.

"No, because he's moved on from me but even if I did, it's still a huge progress from you," Blaine said in snide.

"You'll regret ever going to him"

"Like I'm regretting going to you but I think I'll take my chances" he again replied acidly.

"You were never like this Blaine. He's not even in your life for a week and he's changed you"

"The truth is that you changed me, Kurt, I was always like this. Confident, arrogant even, straightforward, and very independent but since I met you, you've been changing me and not for the better. You know why I liked Sebastian, it's because he didn't change himself to be more accepted among everyone, and that's why he's the one that has everything."

"Please Blaine… he wasn't able to win a stupid competition in high school so I think we know how he's successful; auto tune is a beautiful thing" Kurt said in his superior attitude putting a hand in front.

"That's the thing Kurt, you've never heard him really. If you hear him, you can see that he doesn't use one. And back in high school, he wasn't singing solo, Warblers didn't win because of many reasons, not just because of Sebastian"

"Can we not talk about him?"

"I don't want to talk about anything so I'm gonna go and don't follow me."

And with that Blaine turned and walked away even though he heard Kurt shouting at him to stop but he didn't. He had some serious decisions to make.


	15. Chapter 15

Kurt had fought tooth and nail against divorce when he was served with papers yet Blaine had finally got it in family court. Even though he didn't want mediation or any reconciliation with Kurt, he was forced to come in front of a court-appointed mediator. At first Kurt had been able to manipulate the situation to his benefit but later on, even the professionals declared that they were just toxic to each other. But Kurt didn't want to be the one who gets told what to do so at last when he saw that the situation was out of his hands; he made a show of agreeing to sign the divorce papers behaving like he was setting Blaine free and showing his love for him.

But that didn't mean the end of Kurt's interference in Blaine's life as he still kept tabs on Blaine as much as he could. It had gone to such extents that Blaine had to stop contacting his McKinley friends to keep away from him.

As Blaine was walking down the street to his apartment, he kept on looking over his shoulder to check if Kurt was following him or not. Blaine was sure that this meeting with his ex-husband wasn't some chance meeting. By the way, Kurt was talking, it looked like he had planned crossing paths with him. And if that's the case, Blaine had to make some major life changes now as it had become kind of a pattern for Kurt to meet Blaine randomly and act like it was co-incidence.

Blaine determined that it was time to send a clear signal to whomsoever it may concern that he had moved on. He decided that he'd take up Nick and Jeff's offer to move in their apartment as Jeff's older brother, Nathan had moved in with his fiancé so there was a room empty now. He immediately sorted out his lease situation and luckily for him he didn't have to worry about it as it was getting over soon.

Jeff and Nick were pretty happy to hear that Blaine had agreed to move in with them and they planned to get all stuff over the week as the month was getting over in almost a week. The warblers made the plan to move Blaine in Niff's apartment over the next few days since everybody was busy with their internships.

He quickly sent an email to everybody informing about all the changes that he was doing so that nobody would get worried; he also added that under no circumstance was anybody allowed to share his details to Kurt as he had enough of his ex-husband. He had nothing to do with him and he wouldn't shed a tear if he never saw Kurt again.

Next logical step would be changing his number but he decided to wait, as he didn't want to loose any chance that Sebastian may contact him and then get a wrong message. He had already blocked Kurt on his phone so it was fine for a few more days, as that wouldn't make much difference.

Over the course of next few days, Blaine had a new address and it was like he was back to living in Dalton dorms with Jeff and Nick but with more space. The apartment was Sterling's home in New York but once the older Sterling sibling came to NYU, they renovated it to the boys' specifications as Jeff had already decided to follow his brother to the city. Since Nick was also going to the same college as Jeff and they had a room empty, he took it instead of living in the dorms.

The Warblers and some of their girlfriends were lounging in Niff's apartment after moving some of Blaine's stuff when Nick asked, "Thad, are you going to talk about Tuesday now?"

"Well I was going to do this later but this is a good time as any. Since everybody knows where I was on Tuesday and who I met, Wes has already told you everything else so why don't you ask questions and I'll answer them," Thad told them.

"When are we going to have a group chat with Sebastian?" Jeff asked first.

"He's been constantly busy since he got there and hasn't had a day to himself. I even talked to Hunter and they've yet to hit the beach, which Sebastian was very excited about. So, whenever he has a whole day free, we can do it I guess but we'll have to take the time difference into consideration too."

"That's okay, we can work with that. Right guys?" David said.

"Yes. Next thing, can we add him to the Warbler messaging group?" Trent asked.

"I think it'll be better if we ask him that when we talk to him," Thad told him.

"You're right," one of them said.

"Most of the time I am, now next question"

"What about Hunter? At least he could talk to us?" Nick asked.

"Guys, he had a whole lot different history with us than Seb so he thought it'd be better that he'd join Seb when we have a group chat with him."

"Has he changed too? I mean is he still the hard ass like he was in high school" he added.

"I didn't talk to him like I talked with Seb. But he isn't high-strung like he used to be; he was more chilled but still very much in control of everything. I think Seb has basically corrupted him in a way and they still bicker like they used to but in a more affectionate way, I guess. But one thing I noticed that Hunter is very protective of Seb, everybody is."

"He has a whole different life that we don't belong in," Jeff said reflecting everything they learned from Thad and Blaine since they met Sebastian.

"But it's not impenetrable, he's still him but just a bigger version of he used to be. Even then he had another life we didn't know about but we never made an effort to know about it, we basically wrote both of them off in a way" Thad told them.

"That we did, especially after the whole slushy-gate and steroid-gate," Trent said agreeing.

"Do you know when Santana and Dave became friends with Sebastian?" David asked sometimes later.

"Sebastian actually visited Dave in hospital after Dave's suicide attempt; they kind of became friends over being villains, at least that's what Santana told me. And Santana and Sebastian are basically same people in two different bodies but they also became friends because of Dave."

Nick couldn't help himself and ask, "What about Brittany?"

"Brittany told me that he helped her for Juilliard application and her auditions, " Blaine told them.

"And she told me that he used to spend his weekends at his house tutoring her too, he even had his own room there. She also handles his website and has been doing for years now." Quinn added.

Jeff had to ask, "How come New Directioners never knew about this?"

"Come on, this is Seb you're talking about. He's like a maestro in secrets. Nobody knew that he and Blaine were kind of dating and they used to hang out with us so spending time with Brittany must've been nothing for him" David commented.

"Didn't his parents say anything for not spending time at his home on weekends?" Beat mumbled.

"Really? Beat, how many times did you see any of his parents in almost two years. I think I've seen his father more on news than in person and he was our friend's father."

They kept on talking over pizza and beer taking it easy as everyone was tired after moving Blaine's stuff in the summer heat while on the other side o the globe, Sebastian was already in his usual groove of touring just after a day of acclimatization to different time zone and a different weather. With so much traveling that he did all his life, jetlag had become something that didn't affect him anymore to the extent it did to everybody else.

From there, it was a constant flurry of interviews, meet and greets, radio station promotions, concert shows almost every other day and nights. This was his first major tour in Australia and he got a great reception from the crowds. Most of his shows had been sold-outs once they got open for ticket sales. And it had been so hectic that he couldn't even get to the beach like he imagined for the first week he was there so only pictures that were posted on his social media were his standard black and white selfies and customary concert pictures that Hunter clicked. He had kept touch with his friends back home as much he could but it wasn't enough so he indulged them with a lot of pictures and videos as different time zones created a lot of scheduling conflicts.

This was the first free day he got since coming to Australia, which Sebastian spent at the beach learning to surf but there was always something that was hanging back in his mind despite his best efforts to not think about it. He still hadn't made a decision about Blaine as in his mind he knew that if he brings Blaine back in his life, it's essentially giving Blaine power over him.

And he didn't know what exactly Blaine had in mind? Did he just want to become friends again or something else? Did he try to contact him that day because he was divorced now and Sebastian was still single? Was he an easy option now that Blaine didn't have anybody else or did he just wanted to be friends? But the biggest question was why now; Blaine hadn't tried to contact him since that wretched day he asked for help to propose Kurt so why now exactly.

Also, he knew that he couldn't take any more rejection from that man if this ever became more, it was all or nothing deal. Either he would start having feelings for Blaine again or this had a possibility of ruining him completely if it turned out to be one-sided once again.

When he had decided to move to New York, in the back of his mind he knew that one day he'd have to face Blaine again but he never thought that Blaine would end up tracking him down to his home. He certainly didn't imagine that he'd be the friend Miss Lily would bring with her and Blaine was the last person Sebastian thought would be standing in his living room not even after a week in the city. He could only be grateful that he was going back on tour and had a legitimate reason of not facing Blaine soon but he knew that he couldn't keep on procrastinating.

It was rude and cruel in a way to keep Blaine hanging like that; he should either talk to him or tell him that he didn't want to talk ever again. But he knew the answer to that from the first day, which was that he couldn't deny Blaine even if he wanted to. It was just a matter of time, he'd break his resolve, and contact him and that wouldn't be the first time. He had already done that once before so this wouldn't be something new.

He vaguely remembered sitting in his room in London after getting the first copy of his album in his hands and calling his stepmom to give her the news. She was so happy to hear that and had asked him about his plans on celebrating the event and all he could think about was calling Blaine to tell about it. After he ended to call with his stepmom, Sebastian decided to get a drink to stop himself from going down that road but sometime during the night after a couple of drinks at the local bar, he had done the deed. In his drunken haze, he had put the album with a letter in an envelope and gave it to the bartender to send it to the address on top. When the next day he woke up with a killer hangover and foggy memories of the night before, he immediately went back to the bar to stop the bartender from sending the envelope but he was too late, it was already was done.

Sebastian remembered how he spent the next few months in dread and hope that someday Blaine would contact him but it never happened. At first, he was relieved that nobody contacted him but some time later he started feeling resentment towards the man in a way. He didn't mention this incident to anybody at first, as he didn't want anyone to think how pathetic he was to want a man who doesn't want him back even after so many years. Later he started to pacify himself by thinking that maybe the envelope got lost in the mail and didn't reach its intended destination or something like that. He had sent it to Anderson house in Ohio so maybe it never reached to Blaine's hands and that was the best-case scenario for all parties involved. He had made his peace with that but now there was something new he had to deal with.

But aside from that he genuinely wanted to know how Blaine was doing; last time he saw Blaine, he was getting married to Kurt in a dual ceremony with Santana and Brittany but Blaine didn't see him that day. So much had changed since then and he was intrigued to know this new Blaine in a way.

There was still an hour left for Blaine's birthday to be over if he calculated the time zones correctly so he decided to give a call. There was a rush of emotions going through inside him as he heard the call getting connected, he remembered the last phone conversation they had where he asked Blaine to never contact him again and live, as he never existed. This phone call was definitely an 180-degree shift from that one so he could only imagine how this one goes. It was a great afternoon in Australia and he had spent the day on the beach after last night's show so he was in great spirits, he just hoped that this call doesn't spoil that. As he was thinking about what he'd say to the person on the other side but suddenly the call was picked up.

"Hello, who's this?" Blaine's voice sent a shiver down his spine.

"…"

"Hello, whom do you want to speak to?" he asked again.

"Hi, Blaine" Sebastian finally answered a beat later realizing he had yet to answer.

"Sebastian…?" Blaine asked as if he wasn't able to believe his ears.

"Yes, happy birthday Blaine," Sebastian said in a clear voice this time remembering why he called in the first place.

And suddenly Blaine started rambling once he heard Sebastian, "thanks, and oh my god, I didn't think that you'd call. You didn't contact me for so many days after that I thought… never mind I'm so happy that you did."

"Yeah, sorry about that. And sorry about that day at my home too, I was so shocked to see you there and didn't handle the situation very well…"

"I'm sorry for that day too, I shouldn't have done what I did that day but right now, I'm just so happy that you called today and thanks for that."

"It's my pleasure. So did you celebrate your birthday? Did you go out and party?" Sebastian asked awkwardly not knowing where to take this conversation anymore. It was for the first time in his life he felt like he had so much to say to the other person but he didn't really know how to talk anymore.

"Yeah I did but I'm walking back to my place now" Blaine replied.

"Do you need to end the call…?" Sebastian interrupted him in between.

"No no no, it's fine. I walking inside my building now so if you're free, we can keep on talking" Blaine said backtracking quickly as he really didn't want to let the other man go.

"Oh…okay, so what did you do for your birthday?" Sebastian asked getting back to the safe topic.

"Nothing much, my college friends and the warblers in the city threw a party for me so I had a blast there. Mom, Dad, Cooper sent gifts, so that was great" Blaine told him going in the direction Sebastian was taking the conversation.

"That's good and did you have a birthday cake?" Sebastian asked trying not to show his out of character awkwardness.

"Yes I did and I made a wish too and it came true" Blaine told him.

"What did you wish for?" Sebastian asked picking up the bait.

"To talk to you again"

"Then you must be happy," he remarked.

Blaine couldn't help himself but ask showing his exuberance, "I am but enough about me, what are you doing right now? Do you have a show today? Is it day or night there? What kind of weather is there? Where are you right now?"

"That's too many questions in a row killer…" Sebastian chuckled.

"Sorry, I'm just so excited to hear from you. Don't mind me, tell me whatever you like"

"Okay, right now I'm in Sydney, Australia and it's around 3 in the day right now and no, I don't have a show today and I spent the whole day at the beach. It's actually autumn here but the weather is really pleasant, not too hot, not too cold and I'm in my hotel room right now talking to you," he told him.

"That's so great, did you have a fun day at the beach?"

"Yes I did, Hunter tried to teach me how to surf but let's just say I'm really bad at it. Other than that, I had a blast and the water was great for a swim. After 3 shows back to back for last 3 nights, I think it was the perfect day"

"At least there's something you're bad at, I have to say, Bas, I never imagined you'd be a singing sensation but I'm so proud of you," Blaine had to tell him.

"I don't think anybody ever did and that includes me too, I never thought singing as a profession but things just fell into place in a way" Sebastian replied shrugging even though he knew the other man couldn't see him.

"Sebastian, you are great at it and you have numerous awards including multiple freaking Grammies to prove it"

"Thanks, killer and no proof needed" he chuckled.

"When I bought your first album, I knew that it would be out of the world. I think anybody that I've heard talking about it has the same opinion that I have, you're really talented Sebastian and your family must be so proud of you"

"You bought my album…?" Sebastian asked intrigued.

"Yeah I did, on the same day it came out"

"Oh…" he sighed.

"Everyone in the warblers did, they miss you, Sebastian and Trent is a total fanboy for you"

"Trent… really?" Sebastian exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes he is, he's the one who announced to us that you moved to New York. I think he has set up Google alerts for you or something"

"I didn't know that Trent really liked me…"

"Why wouldn't he like you?" Blaine said not understanding why Sebastian would think that.

"Well, after the 'slushy-gate' and then 'steroid-gate', I thought I was the public enemy no.1 for stopping him from reporting Hunter so I thought he would hate me"

"From what everyone told me, you were the one who talked Hunter out of using steroids once you came to know about it and stopped Trent from leaving warblers; you were the one to take them to the regionals so why would he hate you," Blaine told him to make him understand where he stood.

"I…" Sebastian sighed.

"It's okay Bas, it's all in the past but I think everyone would like a call from you like the one you did for me"

"We could something this Sunday…" he suggested.

"That's a great idea. Is this your number?"

"Yes it is but could you please not give it to anybody, this is the umpteenth number I've had that is still out of public reach so I'm trying to keep it that way not that I think you'd give it to anybody"

"It's fine Bas, I understand" Sebastian flinched again hearing Blaine call him that again.

"Can you please not…?"

"Sorry, my mistake" Blaine said getting immediately what Sebastian was saying.

"It's okay, so I'll let you go now?"

"Okay" Blaine reluctantly agreed.

Sebastian bid, "Happy birthday again and Goodnight, bye"

"It is really happy now, talk to you later Sebastian," Blaine said waiting for the call to end with a smile.

The smile and the glow on Blaine's face that night could certainly blind somebody. He was just given the best birthday gift ever and his wish had come true. Every day he had been losing hope of getting a call from Sebastian as so many days had passed and he was yet to contact him not that Blaine ever blamed him for not doing so. But every time when Thad would post some tidbit from Sebastian or Hunter, he'd feel bad about not getting anything from Sebastian.

But all the despair was forgotten now, he finally got a call from Sebastian and he sounded happy to hear him. It didn't feel like it was forced from his voice so Blaine could only guess his birthday was why he chose this day instead of any other. Nonetheless, he wasn't going look in the gift horse's mouth, he was going to use this chance as a way to rebuilt his friendship.

Though they hadn't talked about the past, but as much as Blaine wanted to resolve everything, it was not the right time or right way to do so. He had decided to let Sebastian lead this time and take it wherever this was going so, Blaine was happy to take whatever he got. The mere fact that Sebastian wasn't comfortable with him calling nicknames meant that they weren't as okay as Blaine wanted them to be but at least the call was a start.

Blaine established that he had to tread lightly and not to overwhelm the other man, as he still didn't know where he stood with Sebastian. They had yet to talk about the heavy stuff in past but right now for the time being Blaine decided not to bring anything up from his side until Sebastian did. For now, Blaine was going to take this delicately but keep everything light.


	16. Chapter 16

The last thing Blaine ever expected when he was walking back from his birthday party last night was to get a call from Sebastian. It put him in a delightful mood even the next morning, which Jeff and Nick noticed.

"What has you skipping on the sunshine today? You weren't even this happy yesterday and it was your birthday," Jeff asked as he poured coffee while Blaine was making breakfast.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Blaine replied smiling.

"Try me"

To which Blaine casually replied, "Last night Sebastian called me to wish me happy birthday and we talked."

"He did?" Nick exclaimed equal parts shocked and happy.

"Yeah, I was so surprised cause I was honestly losing hope that he'll talk to me ever again but he called as I was coming back from the party and it was so great. We talked for a while and it was great catching up."

Jeff said, "That's great Blaine, I'm happy for you. Now you can stop moping around the apartment"

"I wasn't moping," Blaine defended.

Nick told him, "Blaine I can safely say that you were more miserable for last few days than you were when you separated and divorced Kurt. Everyone knows that Sebastian has a special place in your heart so nobody commented but let me assure you, everyone noticed."

"And that's why Thad and Trent were trying to not post a lot of updates from him," Jeff added.

"They didn't need to do that but I guess you're right"

"I hope we could talk to him too"

So Blaine told him, "Jeff last night he said that he'll try this Sunday. I think he wants to talk to everybody too."

After the call on Blaine's birthday, Sebastian hadn't called again or sent any texts to him so Blaine didn't really know how to respond. He didn't know what was the usual protocol was in his peculiar situation that wouldn't somehow destroy whatever progress he had with the other man. It wasn't like this was waiting for a call from someone after the first date; this was completely different. And since Blaine was going to follow Sebastian's lead he didn't take initiative himself but that was nerve-wracking on its own as he still wasn't aware where he stood with Sebastian.

On the other hand, Sebastian was in the same boat as Blaine, not knowing if they were friends again or just someone he used to know. And his pride was also playing a part, as he didn't want to be the one who initiated conversation again; he felt that he already did that so they were both at an impasse.

One fine Sunday evening in New York, all of the boys were chilling out in the evening that Sunday when Thad received a message from Hunter asking if they all were together and free as it was the perfect time for them to have the long awaited video chat. Sebastian's whole morning had become unexpectedly free and he proposed that it was the perfect time to get back in touch with the guys.

Since they were already together, they just got Skype on. When they got connected, they saw Sebastian and Hunter.

"Hi, guys. It's good to see you, everybody's here." Thad told them.

"Hey, guys and yeah, it does look like everybody's here. How's everyone?" Sebastian said.

And then suddenly everyone started talking at once. Sebastian and Hunter were pretty surprised how excited everybody was to see them and though they couldn't understand what anyone was saying, all they could do was sit there and smile at their friends' antics.

"Guys, guys. I don't think Sebastian and Hunter are really getting what anyone of you spoke," Wes remarked once he got an opening to speak.

"Yeah, boys but let me tell you, its great to see you all, each one of you," Sebastian told them.

"We both missed you all and its good to see you all. But for one minute, it was like we were back in the senior common room," Hunter said.

To which everybody laughed.

Nick remarked, "Yeah it did."

"But then you'd crack your whip and ask everybody to get in formation," Sebastian said with a smile nudging Hunter with his shoulder.

"And you still wouldn't listen to anything I say," Hunter retorted.

"Well I don't take orders from anybody, certainly not from you Captain," Sebastian told him casually with a smirk.

"It is really like we're back in common room, and you two still bicker like you used to," Jeff interrupted.

"We still kind of do"

"Sebastian, we never knew that you wrote songs or even Hunter wrote stories," David said after a while.

Sebastian replied shrugging, "Well the time while I was there, do you honestly think something like that would come up in conversation?"

Beat added, "That's a good point."

"Moreover, it never went with our personalities but I didn't really take up writing seriously till I went to college," Hunter told them.

"And what about you Sebastian?" Jeff asked.

Sebastian told him, "I actually used to write all the time but then kind of stopped for a while. So it wasn't something that I was actively hiding or anything and I did have a keyboard in my dorm room if you guys remember that I used to play, so I did make music, just didn't write complete songs at that time."

"Now that you talk about it, I do remember you playing a lot of time, " Nick said.

"How were you able to have a keyboard in your room, didn't your roommate say anything," Wes asked thinking back to the rules at Dalton.

"I actually had a private single room, Wes," Sebastian said looking towards him.

"I didn't know you could get that"

This time Hunter replied before Sebastian could come up with some excuse, "You don't but you should know Wes, with certain well-placed connections, you can get anything you want."

"Do you guys remember the warning note outside his room"? Trent remarked a moment later.

"Yeah… I don't think anybody ever disturbed him, especially the freshmen" Beat said remembering the elaborate warning Sebastian used to have on his door to keep everyone away.

"What warning?" Wes asked intrigued.

Thad decided to change the subject as the current one was going to lead to a landmine; "Just something only he can pull; moving on, how's Australia?"

"It's beautiful. Hold on, let me show you the views in front of us, they're breathtaking" Hunter answered picking up Thad's motives seamlessly.

"Wow, they really are" Nick remarked.

Jeff said observing, "It looks like it's morning there"

"Yeah it's really early here, I think 8 in the morning. We just got back from the gym," Sebastian told them.

"What are your plans today, do you have a show tonight?" Blaine asked speaking for the first time since the video chat started.

Everybody immediately got a bit alert anticipating how Sebastian will react as they had yet to see them interact. While the warblers didn't want Blaine to get hurt if Sebastian didn't respond the way he imagined would, Hunter, on the other hand, was a bit skeptic of Blaine for his best friend's benefit.

"No, but I had one last night. Actually, I have a free day today as whatever that was scheduled has been canceled due to some issues." Sebastian replied easily acknowledging Blaine directly for the first time, which left everyone present with a breath of relief.

"Oh, so what are you going to do? Sightseeing?" David responded promptly so that it wouldn't get awkward.

"Nah… just have a lazy day, catch up on sleep," Sebastian told them smiling still.

"You deserve it," Thad remarked.

"Thanks, Thad and yeah we do, finally got to go to the beach this week. Hunter taught me how to surf"

"And is he any good Hunter?" Beat asked

"Let's just say, he's like a baby giraffe when on a surfboard," Hunter told them laughing.

Sebastian said pushing him a bit, "Come on, give me some credit, it was my first time."

Hunter replied still laughing, "You were hilarious for your first time, it was like you were drunk or something. I haven't seen anybody fall so many times in an hour in my whole life, even Zeus was better than you and it was his first time too."

"You're mean," Sebastian said with a hint of embarrassment seeing everybody laughing with Hunter.

"And you look like you're pouting" Hunter teased to which Sebastian just flicked him off.

The conversation continued on without going to any heavy topics about past. Since everyone had grown-up, they had a lot to catch up on each other. They continued talking for a while when Natasha signaled Sebastian to come for a moment. They asked her to join them so that introductions could be made.

"Who is she guys?" Jeff asked.

"She's my fiancé Natasha, and Natasha these are warblers. You already know everyone's names except the one behind Thad, that's Wes" Hunter made introductions and everyone said their hellos.

Natasha replied, "Hey guys, nice to meet you. I've heard so many stories about you all."

"She's my tour manager too," Sebastian told them.

"So what are you all doing together? Are you having weekly get-togethers or something?" Natasha asked.

"Actually we just moved Blaine's remaining furniture so we were hanging out but yeah, we do have weekly Sunday brunches as regularly as we can" Nick answered.

"Oh, that's great," Sebastian, remarked.

Jeff said, "When you're back from your tour for good, you all are invited to join us."

"Sure, sounds fun" Hunter suggested and then added acknowledging Blaine directly, "So where are you living now Blaine, guys said that they just moved you in?"

"Yeah, I actually moved in with Jeff and Nick now" Blaine replied.

"And where do you all live?" Hunter asked.

"West village."

"Kind of near us," Hunter commented, "What about everybody else? Are you all close too?"

"Yeah, more or less," Wes said.

"So has anybody been to Seb's show till now or? Natasha asked changing the subject but she clearly understood what Hunter was doing.

"Trent and David have been to one" Jeff told her.

"What about everybody else?"

"We all are going to catch as many shows as possible when you perform on our side of the coast," Thad told them.

"Well then you've to wait for a month or two I think," Sebastian said.

"Guys you should all contact the number I sent to Thad and get the tickets, no need to buy them from somewhere else," Natasha told them sending the message immediately to Thad.

Wes said graciously, "Thanks, Natasha but you didn't have to."

"It's okay guys, consider it as an apology for not keeping in touch. I'm really sorry about that. And you guys can call me Seb if you want, no need to go back to Sebastian" Sebastian said before anybody could say anything else.

"We can do that and apology accepted. Right guys?" Nick said and others readily agreed with him.

Sebastian decided to move the attention from him as he noticed, "I couldn't help but notice that Trent is almost in David's lap. Is something going on?"

"We're dating Seb," David told him.

"You are?" Hunter exclaimed.

"Why are you so surprised Captain?" Sebastian replied drily looking at Hunter but then acknowledged the said couple, "And good for you man, I always thought you were bi-curious and Trent's goo-goo eyes had to work someday. Good to know I was right."

Trent tried to defend himself blushing, which made everyone laugh, "I didn't have goo-goo eyes."

"You did Trent, admit it"

"And what about Hunter, Seb? Is he really as straight as he always claimed?" David asked coming to his boyfriend's rescue to move the attention from him.

Sebastian answered, "Unfortunately yes."

"Not that it ever deterred him from taking me to all the gay bars we've ever been to," Hunter told them.

Sebastian said as a matter of fact tone; "Well the gay guys have all the fun so I had to make you learn to have fun."

Natasha said kissing him on the cheek, "Admit it, Hunt, he has corrupted you."

"That he has" Hunter mumbled.

"We should go dancing one night when we're back home" Sebastian suggested and then asked, "What do you say, guys?"

"Yeah, sounds fun. We'll make it a night."

They kept on talking for an hour about everything and it was really good to catch up with everyone. It was like they had been in touch all along instead of not being in contact for last few years. Once somebody called Natasha telling that they were needed somewhere only then they wrapped up the Skype call. After that, both Sebastian and Hunter were added on the Warblers messaging group and everybody was added to each other's private social media accounts.

Even though Sebastian had directly addressed Blaine several times during the Skype call yet there was residual awkwardness between them so Sebastian decided to take lead this once and texted the other man. There was no need for everybody else to wait for the next apocalypse every time they talked to each other directly.

Sebastian: hey, what are you doing?

Blaine: hi. Nothing in particular, what about you?

Sebastian: same. Can I ask you something?

Blaine: sure :)

Sebastian: you didn't talk a lot today?

Blaine: honestly I didn't know how to…

Sebastian: I don't think there's a need of awkwardness b/w us Blaine

Blaine thought that it was better that they did this at least face to face rather than on texts. He wanted to see Sebastian's expressions while they talked as he wasn't able to really get if he was doing this out of pity or otherwise. Moreover, he also wanted to apologize to him before anything else.

Blaine: can you come on Skype now?

Sebastian: sure

They quickly connected on Skype and Blaine saw Sebastian sitting on his bed.

Blaine decided to start with his apology as that was something that was weighing down on his chest for a while now, "Sebastian, firstly, I want to apologize for everything I did back in high school. I shouldn't have treated you the way I did, you deserved better than that. You don't know how sorry I am for hurting you the way I did and playing with your emotions…"

"Blaine, it's fine. It's all in the past and honestly, I'm not angry with you. I knew what I was getting into and yet I got into it so it's not just your fault. We were just children then, I'm sure we can move forward from that if that's what you want" Sebastian suggested interrupting after seeing Blaine almost on the verge of crying.

Blaine replied after getting himself a bit under control, "I do, you don't know how much I want that. I want my friend back Sebastian if that's okay with you."

"We can do that but…" Sebastian hesitated.

"I know what I'm getting into this time and I'm not fooling myself. We both are adults now and I'm sure we can do it right this time" Blaine said seeing Sebastian's hesitation.

Sebastian replied firmly a moment later, "I guess we can. But please can we be honest and straightforward with each other, I don't care if it's nothing, just be brutally honest with me, it's the least you can do."

"I can do that" Blaine smiled promising.

"Good. Now tell me everything you want cause I know you've been bursting at seams from what I've heard" the other boy smiled in return.

"You don't know how much…"

And it was like riding a bicycle; you don't forget how to even if you haven't ridden one for years. They easily got into the groove of sharing what had been going on with them over the last six years. They both knew if they were going to give friendship an honest chance, they needed to get to know each other again and see the men they had each become.

From that night on, they began to talk more, picking up almost how they left years ago. Since there was an issue of being in different time zones, texting was the best they could do with on a daily basis. Skype sessions were a bit difficult as both of them were really busy but they compensated it with emails and lots of pictures.

Usually, when Blaine would be going for his internship in the mornings, Sebastian would go to bed late at night on the other side of the globe. They would talk till Sebastian fell asleep mid sentence and then Blaine would disconnect the call to let him sleep. As much Blaine thought it would be difficult for them to reconnect, it was surprisingly not. It warmed his heart seeing that Sebastian genuinely wanted to talk to him again and actually allotted him a slot to talk almost daily even after being so busy and tired after shows.

Even though Sebastian had said all was fine with what happened in the past, Blaine still wanted to talk about everything in a more elaborate manner, to clear the air as best as possible yet he was not ready to rock the boat. He could only thank his stars that there was no residual awkwardness between them once they agreed, to be honest, and straightforward with each other, it was like they were back to discovering each other without past history involved.

But Sebastian texts were always friendly now, no innuendos that used to be always present in high school could be found now. It was like talking to an absolutely different person but not which always left Blaine feeling a bit strange.

So one day on Skype, Blaine decided to ask, "Have you outgrown your flirty behavior or is it just with me?"

Sebastian smirked, "Why? Are you missing my flattery killer?"

"Weirdly I am. Not the flattery, but the ease you used to flirt with. I always thought flirting is like breathing to you, is that changed now?" Blaine answered truthfully.

"No, it hasn't. I didn't think you'd appreciate it so…" Sebastian just shrugged.

"Sebastian, you don't need to change for me, I appreciate you the way you are. One of the best qualities you have is that you never changed to be accepted and I like that the most about you," he told him.

Sebastian said in an absolutely leering gaze, "I hope you don't regret what you just asked."

"I think I'll take my chances" Blaine smirked in response surprising the other man but then both of them laughed.

From there it was like Sebastian became determined to make Blaine blush every time they interacted, whether it was through text or calls. And surprisingly to Blaine's chagrin, it was usually innocent.

Both of their friends noticed the change in their temperament though the change was for the better. Hunter and Natasha were pleased to see that Sebastian became more affable as his interaction with Blaine increased, even though he was being cautious, he was still looking much more free and happy.

"You have a distinct smile after getting anything, be it a photo or call from a certain curly hair man? I don't think I've seen you so positively giddy for anything and I've been around for years now."

Sebastian answered defensively, "We're just friends."

"We didn't say otherwise."

"Seb, we just don't want you to get your hopes up if this doesn't turn out more than friendship again," Natasha said squeezing his hand gently trying to make him understand where their concerns were coming from.

"Yeah man, I really don't want to get another phone call from Dave like I got asking me to pick you up from that wretched café. You're surprisingly really bad with break-ups" Hunter agreed.

Sebastian sighed, "Hunter, we really are just friends and I don't have any other expectations from him this time. As much as this may surprise you, Blaine and I have always good at friendship, it's the other additions we are disastrous at."

"But you don't treat him the same way you treat your other friends" Hunter pointed.

"What do you want me to say? We just gel together differently. And all my other friends have their significant others, I can't exactly talk to Dave or Santana without impeding their time with Andrew and Britt respectively."

Natasha asked, "So why don't you date somebody? And no we're not talking about Blaine."

"Fine, bring me someone who you think I'll work the best with and I'll give it a shot but before your match-making powers come to full boot, remember that you've just one shot at this and if this fails, no more talk about my love life or the lack of it" Sebastian acquiesced.

"Deal."


	17. Chapter 17

Santana was having a lunch with Blaine in New York one fine day. Sebastian had talked to her and cleared about everything regarding Blaine after he talked to him. It was about time she herself cleared the air with Blaine too as Brittany was getting on her about it every day. Even though she always liked Blaine better than his ex-husband as he supported her when she came out but her relationship with Blaine had soured a bit once she came to know about the whole Sebastian and Blaine debacle back in high school. But now since Sebastian was mending his friendship with Blaine, she could do it too.

"Hey Hobbit, heard you got your wish?" Santana smirked.

"I did"

She decided to get to the point before anything else after seeing Blaine's smile, "See Blaine, I'm not going to apologize for anything that I said that day so don't hold your breath for that but I'd like to say that if Sebastian can be okay with you, I can too."

"That's okay Santana, you honestly don't need to apologize. In fact, I should be thanking you for opening my eyes to everything better and I'd really like to get back in your good books" Blaine suggested.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked and continued when Blaine shrugged, "Why did you move and change your number so suddenly?"

Blaine answered a moment later wrangling his fingers together, "My lease was getting over soon, but the real reason was that I think Kurt has been kind of stalking me. He used to randomly show up at places near my apartment, in the park or stores and I really..."

"I've to really commend Lady Hummel, I didn't think he'd ever stoop to stalking but he surprises me every time" she muttered.

"And Jeff and Nick had been pestering me to move in since Jeff's elder brother moved out so I thought why not" he added seeing her getting riled up a bit.

"Good for you. Has Hummel crossed paths with you since then?"

"Fortunately for me, no. I told all the McKinley people to not give out any of my info to him and yes, that includes Rachel" he told her before she could ask.

"Are you going to be okay at her wedding, I mean he's her man of honor?"

He told her truthfully, "I will be until he behaves but I don't think he'll try to cause any issue in Rachel's wedding, she's too important to him."

"You really don't like him anymore, do you?"

"His annoying antics just make me angry now. Whatever positive I felt about him since I left him just keeps vanishing into thin air, making me question what did I ever saw in him every time we meet now. You know I think that he intercepted Seb's letter you were talking about and he never gave it to me. I asked him about it last time I saw him and he didn't give me a straight answer" he told her.

"That could've happened. He always hated Seb so it's not exactly out of the realm for him"

"I'm 99% sure he did from how he reacted when I asked him. I think he thought that I didn't catch the change in his behavior but I did. He had the audacity to say that Seb uses auto-tune, I mean has he ever heard him"

"Of course he said that. I really wish I was there when he heard Sebastian for the first time since he became this global sensation"

"I was there and let me tell you, I never saw his eyes widen that much. We actually watched him on SNL and Kurt dropped his glass of wine when he saw Sebastian singing on Live television"

"Please tell me you have a recording of that, I'm sure everyone especially Seb would appreciate it," she said getting a bit excited.

"Sadly I don't as I was just as surprised. I mean I knew that Sebastian was modeling and stuff I was genuinely surprised to hear that he also ventured into music professionally."

"Even we were surprised as only Hunter and Natasha knew about it till the official announcement. We knew he had been writing songs for other singers for a couple of years by then but we were honestly surprised when he announced that he was going to release his own music too" she told him.

"How long exactly has he been writing songs professionally?"

"I think three years now, you should ask him the exact time frame"

"I will, you don't know how happy I am to be able to talk to him again after so many years"

"Even though it's out of character for me to show that I care about anybody else but my wife but I do care about both you and Sebastian. So I hope that you both find what you guys are looking for in each other without hurting each other again" she told him.

"I care about him too much to hurt him ever again Santana"

"Just don't hurt yourself in midst of not hurting him, you deserve happiness too" Santana suggested.

"I'll keep that in mind."

As the days passed on, Sebastian moved to Asia, which flipped his usual calling schedule. Now Sebastian would talk while going wherever he was scheduled for the day in the morning while Blaine would go to bed in New York. Thankfully, Asia part of the tour wrapped up soon and Sebastian was back in Europe.

Europe was more hectic as he was also working on a secret project that he wasn't allowed to talk about. But it became easier to handle different time zones with Sebastian being in Europe as it wasn't crazy like Australia or Asia.

One day when Blaine got home, he had a surprise waiting for him in his room. He was surprised to see a package sitting on his bed when he switched on the lights. He took it in the living room calling Nick and Jeff to ask about it as it was only addressed to him without giving away the details of the sender.

Blaine asked both of them showing them the package, "Guys, do you know who left this?"

"Brittany had come earlier to deliver this. We asked what it was but she just said that it was a surprise so we didn't ask for more," Nick informed him.

"Okay. Let's just open and see what it is before I get more information from her?" "That's a good idea."

Blaine carefully opened the package and it had more packed items. There was a letter addressed to him, "It's from Sebastian, this is his handwriting. There's a letter too."

"Come on, read it," Jeff said getting excited.

 _Hey! Blaine,_

 _I know you're surprised and asking why did I send this? Well, I couldn't let your birthday go away without giving any gifts so, without further ado, here it is._

 _Once you open everything, only then read further. Start with the bigger one._

Blaine immediately put down the letter and opened the bigger one of the three gifts. It was leather bound complete New York Times on his birth date with his name on it. On the first page, there was another card waiting for him.

 _I hope you know how special you are that only you have a whole newspaper dedicated to you on your birth date._

 _Just kidding ;) I have one too; in fact, anyone can have one._

 _You just have one fancy gift. How did you like it? But before you answer that, open the smallest one now._

He picked up the one Sebastian was talking about in the card and opened the wrapping carefully. It was a cute personalized Harry Potter bobble head of him with a small note stuck in the bottom. He immediately opened to read it.

 _I know how huge Potter fan you are so I'm making your dreams of going to the wizarding world true. Well at least in miniature bobble head version._

 _So now that only one gift is left, you know which one to open. Somebody once told me that gifts should be practical yet fun. Since the last two were more fun so_

 _I thought let me fill the practical quota with the next one. That rhymed, wow, I'm a poet_ now.

Blaine laughed as he picked up the last gift. It was in a long box and he tried to guess what it was by shaking it but no noise was made to tell him what was inside. He proceeded to open it and when it was unwrapped, it was a magic wand remote control.

"Oh my god, he's a genius. This is ultimate!" Jeff exclaimed.

"Yes, it is" Nick agreed. There was another note attached to the box so Blaine opened it to read.

 _How's this for practical but loads of fun. I know I'm a genius._

 _But now go back and read the rest of the letter._

Blaine proceeded to pick the letter to finish the rest of it.

 _So now that you got your gift, even though it's days after your birthday, Happy belated birthday, I wish you many more to come. Now go on, have fun with your magic wand, I know you want to._

 _Sebastian ;)_

 _P.S: I've become so accustomed to signing autographs that I was going to do that just now._

"Has he topped the best birthday gift charts this year then?" Jeff remarked.

Blaine nodded smiling, "He has. Excuse me; I'm going to go thank him now."

"Kinky"

Blaine decided just to roll his eyes instead of replying. He picked everything up and took it to his own room. The bobble head was going to be put on the nightstand beside his bed and the leather bound newspaper on the shelf near it.

The gifts were perfect, he always liked well thought out gifts. The gifts one gives tell how much they know the other person and care about them. Sebastian could've gone the extravagant way but Blaine loved that he didn't. He went the more personal, more thought out and fun way which warmed Blaine all over.

According to the time difference, it was supposed to be night wherever Sebastian was and he had no show scheduled tonight so Blaine decided to call him to say thank you.

"Hey! Just found out that I got a present, do you happen to know anything about it?" he teased once the call was picked up.

"Fortunately for you, I do. How did you like it?" Sebastian asked.

"I loved it so much. I've yet to test out the magic wand but I know that I'm going to have so much fun so thank you so very much for everything Sebastian. The bobble head is really cute and he looks just like me and the New York Times, that's so special, nobody has ever got me something like it"

"Then I'd say I did a job well done and you're most welcome."

"You know you didn't have to, we just..."

Sebastian interrupted, "It's fine B, we've always been friends first and anything else later. And as a friend, it's my duty to get you a birthday present on your birthday so let's not go deep into analyzing the gesture."

"You're right, I'm being a spoilsport. Let's talk about you, what are you doing now?" Blaine asked changing the subject.

"I was just waiting for your call actually and then go to sleep. I didn't sleep very well last night and then had to get up early so..."

He interrupted, "Do you want to talk later? I just called to say thank you, you can go to sleep now."

"Nah, I'll fall asleep eventually. How was your day?"

"Pretty usual, my internship is going to be complete in a few days and then maybe I'll keep volunteering at the youth center. I'm still in awe of how much children have to talk about. These kids..."

Sebastian said when Blaine didn't complete what he was saying, "Not everybody is fortunate to have a normal childhood B."

"I know and that's why I'm forever grateful for having the childhood I had. Whatever ups and down I had are nothing in front of the things that some people face so early in their childhood."

"B, you had your share of struggle in life like everybody else. You can't compare yours to others"

"You're right but the time I spend at the youth center makes me more humble and more appreciative of life," Blaine told him.

"That's a good thing"

Blaine asked, "What would you say has changed the most in your life since you started your music career?"

"Nap time" Sebastian joked.

"What?"

"Yeah, I'm not kidding, I need naps now if I want to be a functional human being. There used to be an era when I could go on with just a couple of hours of sleep but now I need at least 8 hours in a day to look as fabulous as I do" Blaine could practically imagine the other man smirking on the other hand.

"So modest"

"Modest schmodest" Sebastian just replied but then added, "but jokes aside, another thing, the more important one is that I've become more accepting of people. I mean I don't look down on them like I used to because everyone I meet is so nice to me, I can't exactly be a hypocritical elitist condescending asshole to them after that. So yeah I've become a better human being because of this"

"It's great that you could grow as a human being because of something that would send a lot of people on a power trip" Blaine agreed.

"I think I've already been on one for most of my life that I couldn't get much worse than I already was."

"Pretty sure you could've but it's good that you didn't"

"I'm sure my shrink would've gone mental if I would've. But all thanks to her, I have a whole new career" Sebastian said laughing.

"What do you mean?" Blaine asked intrigued.

"I mean in a way my shrink is responsible for my entry into music professionally. She asked me to start performing and sharing my songs to people which kind of snowballed into me writing songs for other people and then releasing my own songs" he told him.

"Wow"

"I know, right? Who knew? Maybe one day you could have that," he suggested.

"That's something I'm going to add to my bucket list. Career goal – becoming responsible for the music industry's next big thing" Blaine said laughing now.

"We should always dream big, at least that's what my fortune cookie said. So B, do you sing anymore or your singing is just confined to showers and Christmas carols?" Sebastian asked changing the subject back to Blaine again.

"As a matter of fact I do still sing, I actually minored in music and it's part of research for my final degree too"

"That's so great, maybe you could help me with my next album, I could use your knowledge since I never studied music in college" he suggested.

"I don't think you need my help, you're doing so great on your own Seb but I'd love to help," Blaine told him.

"Then that's a plan."

"Have you started working on your next album or...?" Blaine asked.

"I have written some stuff and have ideas for others so yeah, I'd say it's a work in progress"

"When? You've been on the tour..."

"I've been working on it on tour, my goal is to have at least some of the writing done before I'm done with this tour though I'm not really releasing my next album until late next year. But enough about me, we were talking about you. Since you said that you minored in music, do you still perform or is that thing of the past?"

"I do at social gatherings but not for profit like you do."

"Well some people have to sell themselves to make money, not everybody is going to become fancy doctors with fancy Ivy League college degrees" Sebastian teased.

"Look who's talking, I'm sure..."

"Ooh the claws are coming out" he interrupted him teasing.

Blaine agreed, "Of course they are"

They had come a long way from not talking for years to now being friendly and teasing each other without worrying if it was offending the other person. One day casually Sebastian had also started calling him 'B' and for Blaine, it was another milestone for his newly rekindled friendship with the other man. Yet the transition from calling Sebastian by his whole name to 'Seb' was gradual for Blaine unlike his other friends and Sebastian himself.

If Blaine had to compare their friendship from the present to the one in the past, he'd say that it was just an extension of it. Of course, they had changed and grown up but they were still the same boys who liked each other's company. Their worlds were still very different but somehow Blaine felt like he belonged in Sebastian's and Sebastian in his.

And even though Blaine shouldn't compare Sebastian and Kurt now but he couldn't help himself. They way Sebastian always gave note to his opinions, thoughts and every activity he shared with him, it made him question how he ever felt that Kurt was even a good option over Sebastian. The man had the world at his feet and he still wanted to discuss Blaine's internship more than everything new that was happening in his own life.

Sebastian always looked genuinely interested in what Blaine had to say and had honest opinions about it. On the other hand, if Blaine could remember correctly, he didn't have even a one-tenth of these kinds of conversations with Kurt in years. All they used to talk about what was going on in Kurt's office, with his friends, new fashion trends, trashing about anyone who offended him and his complaints with life.

He wasn't saying that he didn't care what Kurt had to say or that what he said didn't have any meaning, it just that how can one person complain and critique so much and still be happy in life. And they never talked about Blaine's daily life because according to Kurt, nothing 'happening' ever happened at a psychology class. Every time he'd talk about some discussion in class, Kurt would listen absent-mindedly for a moment and then change the subject with his more exciting news. After a while, Blaine even stopped talking about college and just started listening to what Kurt had to say but by the last year of marriage, they had stopped talking completely and just argued all the time.

While Sebastian had noticed that they yet to talk about anything related to Kurt or Blaine's previous marriage. Both of them actively tried to stick to the safer topics, talking about their friends, career, daily activities but it was evident that there was an elephant in the proverbial room which one fine day Sebastian decided to poke.

"So killer, don't you ever talk about your ex-husband?" he asked casually.

"Why? Do you want to?" Blaine replied in the same manner not giving away how he took the question.

"Not really, it's just that I don't think I've heard you ever talk about your ex-husband or your marriage since we started talking. Is it too painful to talk about him?" Sebastian asked delicately to not offend Blaine.

"No I haven't and no, it's not. I just thought you won't like talking about my marriage or Kurt so..." Blaine replied.

"I don't have any problem with that. Honestly, it's part of your life so you can talk about it if you want to" he told him.

"Duly noted but I don't really like to talk about him in general" Blaine informed him.

"Got it, I won't bring him up again since it's none of my business. Now the next order of business, are you coming to any of my concerts now that I'll be coming back to USA soon" Sebastian asked getting back to the safer topics.

"I'll be there for your concerts near the city as I'm currently interning but I'll be completely free by the time you come back stateside," he told him.

"And how's that going? How many years till you become a doctor?"

"At least a year more till I get my final degree but I'd need to take license tests before I can practice."

"That's great. Your family must be so proud of you"

"Yeah, they are. It certainly took a lot of patience on their part since it's taking a lot of time before I'm completely independent."

"You've to remember B that everything worth something takes time. You just need to keep at it"

"That I do. But enough about my degree, what are your plans after this tour? Are you taking a break or..."

"I think I won't be really free after the tour as something new that I've been working on is going to drop soon. So it's promotion and stuff will take my time and then fashion weeks are on the horizon too, I'll be going there. But I do really need a break"

"That you do, you look exhausted day by day" Blaine agreed noting Sebastian's appearance.

"Because I am. I'm absolutely done with touring right now, I need to sleep for days," he agreed. "Take care of yourself Seb, you don't want to lose your voice in the tail end of your tour"

"I know B, only two shows this week so after them, I'm gonna sleep for days before I kick start the next part. Dave, Andrew, Santana, and Britt are going to join me on the first week of the stateside tour, I'll relax then too" he told him.

"That's great, I'm sure you guys will have lots of fun together"

Blaine decided to let Sebastian go after a while, as he looked really sleepy. But he really wanted to do something for him since Sebastian looked really spent. The best possible bet to make some difference was Sebastian's tour manager, Natasha but he didn't have her number. Suddenly he remembered that she sent her number to Thad for getting tickets for getting free tickets so he quickly got it from Thad called her.

"Hello, Natasha Walker speaking, what can I do for you?" she answered on the second ring.

"Natasha, hi, it's Blaine. Are you free? I want to talk to you about Sebastian"

"Blaine, hi. Just give me a minute okay?"

"Sure."

"Yeah, now tell me what do you want to talk about Sebastian?" she asked after a minute.

"I know that it's not my place to say this really Natasha but he looks exhausted and really spent so I was thinking if you could do something to make sure he's fine. I know the heat hasn't been helping too but he looks like he needs at least a day or two of rest," he told her.

Natasha said, "I agree with you on that Blaine as I noticed the same thing. He's been working two fold since he's been recording something new as well as touring"

"He told me about that, so can you do something to make sure he's okay in all that since he's been really busy"

"I'm gonna work something out so don't worry, okay?"

"Okay. And another thing I want to ask"

"Sure"

Blaine said, "Well, all the guys were thinking of coming to Columbus concert to surprise Seb as it falls on the start of the weekend and making it like a reunion of sorts. We were thinking of renting a house and spending the weekend so can that work without changing something major?"

"As far as I know that it will work as Seb was thinking of spending all his time with his stepmom while he's in Ohio that weekend. This is why we didn't schedule anything other than his concert that weekend. If you guys can work around that then I don't think there's any problem with this surprise," she told him.

"Can I know where are you guys going to be staying while you're there?"

"We were going to stay with Seb's stepmom but I'm sure she won't have any problem with the change of plans as long as you work around with her."

"Won't she get mad if we impede on her time and plans with him?" he asked.

"No, Annalise is really laid back. I'll talk to her once you guys give me proper logistics about the plan and we can work out something that works for all, is that okay?"

"Yeah, that'll be great. I'll talk with everyone and get back to you soon."

"Sure and I'll be sure to send you schedule and necessary details about the Columbus concert. But now you've to let me go, bye"

Blaine bid her goodbye and then called Nick and Jeff out in the living room to make plans for the trip to Ohio. Once they sat down and hammered down the details about everything, they started making arrangements after getting necessary details from Natasha.

"Guys, shouldn't we ask Santana and Brittany to join also, for that matter, even Dave and his boyfriend. I mean they're Seb's friends too" Jeff said.

Blaine agreed, "You're right Jeff, we should ask them to join us. They're already going to be there since they're joining Seb on tour for the first week so we need to ask them too"

"We would need to think about bigger accommodations now since everyone's bringing their significant others," Jeff told them.

Nick replied, "Right now if we add up everyone and their significant others, the number is above 20 so it's better if we rent a larger place with a pool and all the shenanigans. I'm sure everyone would appreciate that and a pool party could be fun."

"We could do that but plan the weekend accordingly as Sebastian needs down time to relax and rest, he's getting really knackered with working two-fold. He has been working on something while touring" Blaine told them,

"Did he tell you what? Hunter hinted that it's something big"

"No, he's been extremely tight-lipped about it, just says it's going to blow all our minds when we'll get to know about it which I'm sure will be true"

"I'm sure everybody's gonna like whatever it is"

"Personally I think he's doing a soundtrack for a movie as he told me that once his tour is done, he'd get busy with promotions and his next album isn't supposed to drop till next year," Blaine told them.

Jeff agreed, "Maybe you're right, but if that's the case, we'd be looking at entirely different categories of awards that he'll achieve since everything he's created has won something or the other"

"That it has, I'm still in awe that somebody we know has achieved something so exceptional. I mean who would've thought the cocky arrogant boy we met in high school would one day grow up to write award-winning songs about love and heartbreak" Nick said.

But then added, "Did he tell you how did he get into this, I mean it's a far way from going to college for studying law, even modeling too"

"He did and it's actually a great story which you should ask him yourself" Blaine replied.

"I will."


	18. Chapter 18

Blaine was back at Riley's office for another monthly session, which was sure going to be a lot different than the last few. They talked about how the last month was and Blaine told her about his birthday and how he's back to being friends with Sebastian, that even Brittany and Santana were talking to him again like they used to.

Riley asked once Blaine regaled her with his newly rekindled friendship with Sebastian, "what about other things that happened in the last month with you?"

"What kind?" Blaine questioned.

She clarified, "which don't involve Sebastian, I'm sure your whole month was not spent on him."

It took a bit of time to think him, "uh… I moved to nick and Jeff's apartment, changed my number and other contact details because I feel that Kurt has been stalking me for the past year"

"Okay. And how do you feel about that?"

"Annoyed, angry and disappointed."

"Why disappointed?" she asked.

"Because now that I've seen Kurt's true colors, I'm disappointed and ashamed of ever choosing him over Sebastian. Even as a friend he's so considerate of me that it makes me feel guilty."

"Have you talked about your guilt with him then? Even better, have you guys talked about what happened in the past?"

"I brought it up the second time we spoke and he didn't really let me complete, he just said that it was fine and in the past. Ever since then I want to talk more about it but I don't want to overstep and destroy everything again" he told her earnestly.

She suggested, "it's not healthy for your friendship to let the past fester for a long period of time, someday it'll be back in your face again and you might not able to handle it then. I'd say that control it now so that it doesn't control you later"

"I agree but honestly, I'm scared. I really don't want to lose him over my stupidities in the past and why poke the sleeping bear. Maybe he's really over everything and fine with it staying in the past"

"Are you sure about that? I can understand why you don't want to rock the boat but…"

Blaine interrupted her, "fine, I'll talk to him once he's back from tour. I don't want to do this when he's miles away and it's better to do this in person"

"That's all I can ask. I can't force you or tell you how to handle everything; I can only suggest you do the right thing. It's a fine line between being your friend and your therapist, which I don't want to cross," she told him.

"I get that, you have helped me far more than you know."

"Glad to be of help. Now how is your internship going?"

"It'll be complete this week, after that, I might volunteer at the youth center or something. This is the first summer which I'm not taking classes in so I want to enjoy it."

"That's a good approach I'd say."

They kept talking about all other developments in Blaine's life and then discussed further sessions. Blaine wanted to reduce the sessions to as per need which Riley felt was fine since he was doing much better than last year. The monthly sessions they did had become more of life updates than anything else over the last few months.

While Britt, Santana, Dave, and Andrew joined Sebastian when he kick-started his US tour for a week. They were all lounging around the private pool on the hotel terrace while talking about the newly engaged couple. Only people missing were Hunter and Natasha who were out for some errands.

"So you guys are going to have a long engagement like Hunter and Tasha or a quick walk down the aisle Britt and Santana style?" Sebastian asked looking directly at the newly engaged couple.

Andrew replied, "we're getting married after your tour ends, we don't want to wait for more than we have to. I mean I'm not going to get younger now am I?"

"Andrew you're just 27" Santana teased with mirth.

"And your point?"

She said, "Nothing, just pointing you're still in your 20s"

"Thank you, Santana"

Dave said before they could keep on bantering each other, "Seb, we have something to ask you?"

"We want you to marry us," Andrew said when he saw Sebastian nod to proceed further.

To which Sebastian replied, "Like announce you that you're husband and husband, that thing? Sure."

Santana added, "You understand that you can't make jokes there huh Seb?"

"Of course but if I did, will you be surprised?" he replied smirking.

Dave told him, "We know what we're getting into. You'll need to get licensed and…"

Sebastian interrupted, "I know how that works, I'll get that done soon. Don't worry, I'll be the best officiator you'll ever find"

"Thank you Seb, this means a lot to us and you mean a lot to us, that's why we asked you"

"Now he can't give Dave away to Andrew, well played Mr. Karofsky," Santana said.

Sebastian smirked rubbing his hands together looking all sorts of cartoon villain that Santana used to call him, "this is much better, and I've so many ideas now. My naughty senses are tingling"

"Be scared guys, very scared. Someone needs to reel him in once in a while" she said.

Dave replied, "that's where you come Santana, I want you to be my best woman. You've always stood by me like Seb has and I want you to stand by me when I marry Andrew"

"That'll be an honor, I accept to be your best woman" Santana accepted smiling.

To which Sebastian couldn't help himself but remark dryly, "This is going to be one hell of a gay wedding party"

"Don't worry, my best man is straight so it's not completely gay but I get what you're saying Seb?" Andrew said.

"Are you guys having only best man/woman or…?" Brittany asked.

Andrew replied, "We're having a flower girl and ring bear apart from best man/woman. The wedding is very small, only select very close people will be there, as we don't want a lot of fuss. We're getting married in my parents' backyard in Seattle at dusk and then a reception party following it. The invitations will be sent within a week so make arrangements accordingly"

"What about our clothes? Are we free to wear whatever we choose or…" Santana asked.

"What do you want, since you're the only girl in the wedding party apart from the flower girl," Dave asked.

"I was thinking to go full Carrie Bradshaw from sex in the city and wear a tuxedo myself" she replied.

"Then go right ahead. We don't care to be all matchy-matchy, just come with us when we go to our tuxedo appointment. I'm sure they'll get you something you'll like. And as for you Seb, you can also wear whatever you want" Andrew told them.

Sebastian suggested, "If you want to co-ordinate, you can go to my house and select which suit I should wear as I've shit ton of them"

"Maybe I'll do that," he agreed.

"You guys have really done a lot of planning for getting engaged just 5 days ago" Brittany commented.

"Yes we needed to, otherwise we won't be able to get it all done in time. Thankfully we just need to handle the main wedding stuff and all other arrangements are done by our parents since it's a small backyard wedding." Andrew said.

Santana asked, "is Paul flying to Seattle for the wedding planning or he's…?

"No, he just sent a check and said that he'll do the rehearsal dinner which I think is sweet" Dave replied.

"What about your mother Dave, does she know that you're getting married?" Sebastian asked the tough question which Santana was trying to skirt around. They both knew how bad was the situation with Dave and his homophobic mother, so they were a bit skeptic of what the wedding plan was about her participation.

"She doesn't and I asked dad not to tell her. She lost all her rights on me when she walked out on my dad because of me" Dave replied firmly showing how over his mother he was.

Sebastian said, "I'm sorry that I brought that up. I just wanted to know if you're okay with her not being there"

"It's okay Seb, if it was somebody else, I would've felt different but it's you so it's fine. You are one of those who can honestly relate and understand the situation," he told him.

"Changing from the shitty subject, what about your honeymoon?" Santana came to the rescue to not let the conversation go sour.

Andrew told them, "we're taking a really mini one now and then a long one later after the season is over"

"That works. But how are you able to take a whole week off since its season now?" Sebastian said.

"I don't have a whole week off, I'll be leaving you guys tonight and then come straight to your Columbus concert while Andrew has the week off"

"Are you going with him too, Andrew?"

"No, he'll be busy and I'll be just bored in a hotel room so it's better that I spend time with you guys." And then he turned towards Sebastian to ask; "Now enough about us, let's talk about Blaine. What's going on with you guys?"

Sebastian replied casually giving nothing away, "nothing, we're just friends."

"You spend a lot of time talking to him just to be friends," Santana said.

"Really guys, we are just plain old traditional friends. It's just that he's free and whenever I'm free, we exchange texts and call once in a while, nothing's really going on"

"Do you want something to go on?" Brittany asked.

"Not really. It's better that we remain friends only"

Andrew decided to prod more, "don't you want to see if you could be more now? He's single as far as I know…"

"He is" Brittany chimed in.

So Andrew continued, "and you're too so why not see if you're good together. From what Britt and Santana told me about him, I think he wants more than friendship."

Sebastian decided to tell them what he really was thinking as there was no sign that they were close to letting him up without any definite answer, "Andrew I know you think that I can get a happy ending with Blaine but it's better if we just are friends. We've always been better that way. Moreover, Tasha and Hunter are going to set me up so…"

"Okay if that's what you think and it's good that you're putting yourself out there again. It's been too long since you broke up with August, you've to admit that" Dave said when Sebastian didn't complete. Sebastian looked gratefully towards him for coming to his rescue.

"I do. Now can we talk about something else, I already answer a lot of questions on a daily basis" he told them.

Andrew asked, "sure. So what's next for you guys, you have been married for years now; are you thinking of having kids if that's something that you guys want?"

From there on Sebastian decided to tune them out as they started discussing their plans about expanding their families. He knew sooner than later Santana and Britt were going to have children as they both wanted kids and even Dave and Andrew wanted to expand their families. He was happy for his friends as they were moving forward in their lives, ticking off things in their bucket lists one after another with their loved ones.

When he was a teenager, he used to think that this wasn't something he wanted for himself but lately seeing everybody in his life move on the bigger and better things in life, it was making him question what exactly did he want out of his life now. He was successful, had the world at his feet and yet more often than not he felt he should have someone to share his life with. Of course, his friends filled that void more than they should but was it enough now.

And Sebastian didn't even want to encourage the thought of casual dating now; he had enough of that for a lifetime. He had changed too much to go back to being emotionally aloof and be satisfied with unattached nightstands. Now he craved genuine connection that makes you stop and re-evaluate your life.

"Seb…Sebastian, where did you zone off to?" Andrew asked when he saw him looking miles away.

"Hmm… nowhere. You were discussing kids and I was thinking of all the fun I'm going to have with them" Sebastian replied quickly on his feet so that he won't start prying again.

"You like kids?" Santana asked intrigued.

He shrugged, "of course, why wouldn't I? They're the most intelligent people on the earth. Acting like they don't have a clue and make you do their bidding."

"Only you can have that reason to like kids," Dave said drily.

"No seriously I love kids and for your information Mrs. Lopez-pierce, I babysit my nieces and nephews whenever I'm at my family home in London. And I like kids for a lot of reasons, weirdly enough they like me too"

She said looking directly at him over her sunglasses, "pictures or it didn't happen"

"What is this, high school?" he retorted.

"No, we just want to see the cute pictures of you with babies" Brittany cut in.

"Only if you promise that you guys won't talk about this in front of anybody else, give me your word or I'll have your first born?" he asked looking directly at the girls.

Santana agreed while Brittany just nodded with what her wife was saying, "fine, you've our word that we won't talk about these photos in front of anybody else other than that are present here"

"Fine, go crazy," Sebastian said giving them his phone after opening the locked gallery.

"So your tough ass nails ovaries do melt at the sight of babies," he teased Santana when the girls started oohing and awing on each photo.

Santana retorted, "only on seeing Lucifer cuddled with babies"

"Touché"

Andrew said, "just admit that two of you love babies while you don't like the general population"

"That's because most of them are stupid, " Sebastian remarked.

"And morons" Santana added.

"Well said"

"You too"

That night after Andrew came back from dropping Dave to the airport, he went to Sebastian's hotel room, as he wanted to talk to him about Sebastian's peculiar behavior earlier in the day.

He brought it up once Sebastian put his guitar down, "don't think for a second that we didn't notice how you lied that you were listening to us. What were you really thinking while we were talking?"

"You know sometimes I feel that you're in the wrong profession Andrew" Sebastian tried to deflect.

"Don't stall now, I know whatever it was, it's something important"

"Fine, do you all think if I'll ever get what you all have? I mean there was a time I thought I won't ever want it but now I think I do after seeing everyone moving forward with their lives. I mean I'm not saying I want marriage or children, just somebody to call mine for at least some time I guess" Sebastian asked looking almost dejected now.

Andrew said putting his hand on Sebastian's shoulder, "I think you of all people should never doubt about this, you just need to give it time, there's somebody out there who's custom made for you"

"Do you really think that Andy" he replied in a subdued voice.

"Yeah I do, and do you want to know why?"

Andrew continued when Sebastian just shrugged in reply, "Like you, I was also a wild child. I used to date boys left and right, not caring about anything for a long time but then I met Dave and suddenly like a ton of bricks, I finally found what I was missing for so long. Once I gave it a thought, I think I understood what I was doing"

Sebastian raised his eyebrow in question.

"I think there are two type of people, first, who are like you and me, they go out and try everyone they like to find their missing pieces and second, who wait for finding their right fit. Both of the scenarios aren't wrong, people just do what works for them and nobody should fault other for doing what works for them but the point is that to find your right fit, you've to be ready for it."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means that I wasn't always like this, I calmed the hell down during college and worked on myself to be better in a sense to be ready for accepting Dave and so that Dave could accept me. Sometimes people just click but can't is together because they just don't work even if they're a right fit for each other. If I was my previous version, Dave wouldn't have stuck with me for long and neither would've I gave him enough thought to make him stay."

Sebastian interrupted, "you know I really wanted it to work with August, I gave it all I could yet it wasn't enough. Sometimes it feels like I'll be the exception to the cliché. Once upon a time, I think I would've been proud to be that but now, not so much. Sometimes I feel like I've become a victim of my own success"

"Seb, you shouldn't think like that, you're just 22 and when have you ever worried about finding someone. People fall over each other to get a piece of you everywhere you go so sooner or later, there will be a guy who'll fill all the right boxes when time comes"

"Why am I being such a loser tonight?" Sebastian said rubbing his face feeling annoyed with himself.

Andrew replied, "because, at the end of the day, everyone wants to move forward and find happiness in their respective lives. Everyone around you is taking big steps, making major life changes and it's making you feel left behind in a way"

"Must be that. And thank you, Andrew, you could become a shrink if the Wall Street gig doesn't work out"

"I'll keep that in mind" he smirked.

After that night, Sebastian got out of his out of character funk and got back into the groove of performing almost every night. Having his friends join him for a week made the time fly by and soon he was getting ready to perform in Columbus, Ohio.

It was his first time back in Ohio since he left it after high school and it was bringing back memories and making him nostalgic. When he had left the town, he had sworn that he wouldn't come back ever again to Ohio. But here he was again singing songs about a boy he met here years ago.

Between Natasha, Hunter, and Blaine, all the details were easily kept hidden from Sebastian who didn't have a single clue that all of his friends apart from Dave, Andrew, Brittany, and Santana were waiting in the audience for him when he was getting ready to perform that evening in Columbus. He was still in the illusion that after the show he'd drive down to his stepmom's home in Westerville for the weekend before flying to Florida on Monday to perform on the east coast.

After performing his pre-show ritual, when he was about to step on the stage, Natasha said, "I know that you don't like surprises so I'm going to warn you beforehand this once. I don't want that you get shocked once you see what it is. There are people for you in the audience"

"Natasha, I already know that people in the audience are here for me"

"You'll get what I'm saying once you see them, now go and charm everyone out there like only you do"

Sebastian decided not to give her a verbal response and instead just saluted her before walking away to the sound tech to get his microphone. But once he got on the stage and all the lights came up, he saw all of his friends in the audience cheering for him.

Anybody who wasn't paying total attention wouldn't have noticed the slight gasp he had but his friends did. His face showed his surprise and then his unbridled smile showed how elated he was to see them all there.

The concert was going as planned but once Sebastian got to the acoustic part of the show, he started interacting with the crowd as usual.

"I've to say that there are a lot of familiar faces in the crowd and it's a pleasant surprise to see you all," he said to which crowd just shouted and cheered.

"Since everybody knows that I went to high school at Dalton academy and was part of its show choir, I'd like to know are there any warblers in the house?"

To his surprise, there were a lot of other warblers apart from his friends in the audience who cheered.

"Have to say, I'm feeling a bit nostalgic about the blazer right now?" and like that he kept on riling up the audience while interacting with them. Somebody in the audience shouted that he brought a Dalton blazer as a present for him. He got them on the stage and tried it on.

While his friends were watching him, they could see why Sebastian had this crazy fan following. He easily used his charm and talent to make everyone do his bidding and people were totally captivated.

"So to commemorate this momentous occasion of my return to my old stomping grounds and my friends being here, I'm going to sing a song that I performed years ago. I hope you guys like this version, as it's a bit different. This for my warblers and my fantastic four, you know who you are" Sebastian announced.

Everyone immediately recognized the starting of 'Glad you came' from the first guitar strums and started cheering as Sebastian did a beautiful acoustic rendition of it. The warblers pulled out the moves while singing along and cheering, which made Sebastian smile on the stage. The people around them first couldn't understand what was going on but then Sebastian copied them and everyone got what was going down.

His last song in that set was the cover of 'Creep' with just a piano accompaniment, everyone was mesmerized.

"I haven't ever seen thousands of people listening to somebody sing so raptly in a concert show, I mean I literally have goose bumps all over" Nick commented.

Jeff agreed, "Same, they way he sang, it was just so moving."

While Blaine had tears in his eyes after listening to Sebastian's version of 'Creep' but he agreed with nick and Jeff's assessment. From the very start of the show, it was like Blaine was seeing Sebastian for the first time in his entire life.

The real Sebastian who was very innocent and emotional, it was like when he performed, all his inhibitions just vanished into thin air. And the crowd, it accepted him like he was their own. The last time he saw Sebastian perform live was back in high school and he played the audience just like he used to back then; if he had to say accurately, it was several times better.

He saw people around him were dancing, singing along every song with Sebastian, actually crying, and getting emotional all evening. He was truly an exceptional performer as his vocals were even better live and even though he was dancing every once a while, it didn't hamper his singing.

Knowing that he inspired some of the songs Sebastian was performing had an entirely innominate effect on him. He didn't know how to feel about that as they were written from a very personal space but listening to them live left him in unchartered waters. They roused feelings that Blaine had been desperately trying to keep hidden for almost a month now. What wouldn't he give to go back and change everything that he did wrong in his past but that wasn't possible now but it didn't mean that he still didn't feel guilty. Even though Sebastian had already forgiven him, he still hadn't forgiven himself.

And on the other hand, his feelings for Sebastian had developed over the course of the month since they started talking again. It had been really easy to do that with thinking about Sebastian practically all the time. He was the first person Blaine checked on in the morning and last at night. It was natural to get in the same rhythm he used to share with Sebastian all those years ago but this time it was slightly different.

This time Sebastian was genuinely holding his side of friendship without really giving away any indications to show if he wanted more like Blaine did. He never crossed the line even once with Blaine, being very cautious not to set off anything, which was driving Blaine a bit crazy as the time was passing.

It took everything in Blaine to stop himself from blurting out that he wanted more from the other man when every night Sebastian would fall asleep while talking to him. It was getting harder day by day not to do that; Blaine just hoped that when he did finally say what he wanted, he wouldn't get rejected point blank by the other man.

 **Author's Note: I'm extremely sorry that this is a bit late. I'm busy with real life and I'll not be able to update for next few days. So, please hang on till then. :)**


	19. Chapter 19

Once the concert got over, Natasha made arrangements for everyone to come backstage. Everyone was still buzzed with post-concert adrenaline while waiting to see Sebastian and Nick soon spotted him waiting outside his room.

Nick hugged Sebastian, "Hey Seb! Great show man! You completely blew us away."

"Yeah Seb, you've clearly found your calling."

"Thanks, man!"

"Yeah! And that song man, your rendition was amazing," Thad added.

Sebastian said while still shaking hands with Wes, "glad you guys liked it. I've to say I was shocked to see all of you in the crowd, I didn't have a clue that you all were going to be there."

"You've to thank Blaine for that, he's the mastermind behind it all," Jeff told him all excited.

"He is?" Sebastian asked arching his brow in intrigue. The boys nodded in affirmation that led him to seek out Blaine who was hanging back this time rather than being in front keeping his last meeting with Sebastian in mind. Everyone parted and stood around them in a fashion that looked quite similar to when they first met in Dalton common hall.

Sebastian said smirking while walking towards Blaine, "mighty fine surprise you threw together killer..."

"Are you mad?" Blaine asked interrupting him while looking flustered all of a sudden.

"Mad? No B, this was great, I love it, thanks a lot for this. I've to say, doing all the organizing with Natasha right under my nose without letting me get a whiff of it, very naughty" he answered making everyone laugh and Blaine blush and question why he let Sebastian flirt like only he can.

But before Blaine could turn anymore red, Sebastian was wrapping his arms tightly around Blaine and pulling into a hug that he immediately reciprocated even though he was shocked by Sebastian's reaction. "I've missed you, Blaine," he whispered in his ear quietly.

The sound of Sebastian's voice and his arms around him filled Blaine with the feeling of content for the first time in a long time and he could only reply, "I've missed you too." The happiness in Sebastian's eyes gave away how honestly happy he was to see everyone and it warmed Blaine's, heart.

Once they separated, Sebastian couldn't help himself but added quietly, "you know it's been a while but you still blush like a schoolboy" which Blaine just replied with a quick roll of eyes.

Unfortunately for Blaine, Sebastian wasn't quite enough this time and those who were standing close enough to them snickered on hearing what Sebastian said which reminded him that they were not alone. So Sebastian casually asked addressing everybody, "So guys, what's next? Are you all staying or...?"

"We've rented a house and you're spending the weekend with us," Trent told him.

"What about my mom, I thought we were going to stay with her," Sebastian asked Natasha.

She replied, "I've already talked to her Seb, she's fine with it. You guys have plans on Sunday."

"So she knew about this too?"

"Yes, and this is why she didn't stay after the concert as it's a long drive back"

"Fair enough," Sebastian agreed but then added in mirth, "are you boys going to introduce me to these lovely ladies or not, where are your manners gentlemen?"

Nick replied fondly rolling his eyes at him, "but of course, kind sir. Ladies, may I present to you, Sebastian Smythe." And then casually threw his arm around Sebastian's shoulder making introductions, "and Seb, this is Chloe, my girlfriend. Next to Wes is Sophia, she's Wes's girlfriend, and the lady in Beat's arms is Kayla, love of his life. On Jeff's left is Alice, his girlfriend and, you already know Quinn"

"Hello, ladies, a pleasure to meet you all. I've to say, the boys did well for themselves, you're all are beautiful. I hope you enjoyed the concert" he replied shaking hands with them.

Soon enough dinner plans were discussed and everyone except Sebastian, Natasha, and Hunter left as reservations were already made. The three wrapped up their affairs at the concert venue and then drove down with Henry and Matt later to the restaurant. Sebastian's band was driving down to a waterpark in Ohio to spend their weekend there so they didn't join him for dinner.

By the time they arrived, conversations were already flowing and the hot topic seemed to be the earlier show. As soon as they sat down, the girls couldn't restrain themselves anymore from fangirling. "Sebastian, I want to say this on behalf of everyone present in this room, your rendition of 'Creep' was simply out of this world. I had goose bumps all over me," Chloe asked.

"Yeah, highs that went to the extreme and the lows that were so perfect. Your transitions and that too with only piano backing you, just perfect" Kayla added.

Sebastian replied graciously, "Thank you, I'm glad that you guys liked it. I was a bit skeptical about that one as it's quite different than what I usually do. I'm still experimenting with different styles."

Sophia said, "Yes, I noticed that throughout your album, every song feels different than the last yet it's cohesive to the main theme and the story that you're trying to convey."

"I agree, a lot of albums feel so disjointed but yours is so cohesive. It tells you a story but leaves a lot to the imagination to the listener. And the different genres that you've touched in a single album without losing the flow with each song, you and your team did a superb job" Quinn joined the discussion.

Sebastian told them, "We essentially did more than 50 song ideas including more than 30 complete songs. Even though I wasn't really aiming for huge success in a sense, the management was taking decisions keeping that in mind too."

Alice couldn't help herself but ask, "How much freedom did you have to choose what goes and what doesn't?"

"More often than not, Seb has full freedom to whatever he likes but management tries to make the best possible decisions so it's win-win for all and everyone gets what they want," Natasha answered for Sebastian.

And Hunter added, "At the end of the day, everyone's in it for money."

"Trust Hunter to make it sound so materialistic" Sebastian chimed without missing a beat making everyone laugh.

Once dinner was done, everyone packed into their cars and drove to the rental home. Henry and Matt, Sebastian's bodyguards dropped him at the house before driving to the hotel where they were staying for the weekend since Sebastian had no plans of going anywhere.

"Welcome guys. Jeff and Nick will show you where you'll be staying for the weekend," Thad said while they were getting the luggage inside. Since it was pretty late, as soon as everyone was settled, they were knocked out for the night.

Next day Blaine woke up pretty early for a Saturday so decided to go downstairs to find if anybody else was awake. But unfortunately, nobody else was up so he opted to start coffee knowing that once the aroma of coffee would reach everyone; they'll wake up and want food.

Since they had stocked plenty of grocery in the pantry yesterday, he started making breakfast for everyone and soon Quinn joined him. She poured a cup for herself and then started helping him.

After a while, few others came down when the smell of coffee wafted to their rooms. "Is that coffee I smell? Who is the angel who peered into my dream and made them true?" Thad asked.

"Yes it's coffee and Blaine started breakfast so you can thank him"

"Thanks, Blaine"

"My pleasure"

Jeff asked, "So when do we eat? I'm hungry from all the smell."

"Go and wake everyone up. Once everybody is down, we can eat"

"What about Sebastian? I don't..." Trent asked.

Natasha told him, "It's fine Trent, somebody else will do that," and then added addressing Blaine, "Blaine why don't you go and get him?"

Blaine was surprised by Natasha's request, "Is that, I mean...?"

She told him interrupting, "Of course, you're the one who has made all this. I think he'll appreciate it. We'll handle everything here, so don't worry about the food."

Even though Blaine saw Hunter shooting some looks towards Natasha, he didn't comment on that and just said, "okay if you say so."

When he reached in front of Sebastian's room, Blaine muttered to himself, "Uhh... how should I do this? Let's just knock first." When he didn't hear any movement after a moment, he called Sebastian's name, which resulted in getting the door opened after a minute by none other than Zeus, Sebastian's dog.

"Whoa, neat trick" Blaine couldn't help himself but comment. Upon peering into the room he saw Sebastian in his bed who had obviously just woken, as his eyes weren't fully open and his hair all over. "May I come in?" Blaine asked before stepping inside when Sebastian just nodded.

While Sebastian looked like he could go back to sleep any minute, Blaine came near his bedside, "good morning even though you look like you want to go back to sleep."

"S'kay," Sebastian replied as Blaine set the coffee mug he brought for Sebastian on the bedside drawer. "B, what are you doing so early?"

"It's 10 in the morning, so not as early as you think and I came bearing nectar of gods. There's breakfast for you downstairs and since almost everyone's up, it won't be there for long."

While downstairs Santana commented once she saw Blaine was out of hearing range, "you're diabolical Tasha."

"What?" was all Natasha said going back to her coffee cup.

Hunter said looking at her with accusation in his eyes, "you know what? I thought we were going to find somebody for Seb and now you're playing matchmaker between him and Blaine"

Natasha just shrugged, "deny all you want but Blaine is the best match for Seb. They both want each other and you have to agree that Blaine makes him happy more than anyone. They're just scared to be more than friends so if a gentle nudge helps to make them realize, why not?"

Andrew asked looking around, "who all here agree that they should date each other?"

Sophia, Wes's girlfriend asked, "aren't they dating already?"

"No Soph, they're just friends" Brittany answered.

"Well Blaine doesn't behave like that with Jeff or Nick and they're really friends. I agree with Natasha that I think Blaine and Sebastian should date" Chloe, Nick's girlfriend agreed.

"Guys we're not the ones who make decisions, in this case, all we can do is facilitate them if they do" Wes offered. While some of them just nodded, others vocalized their opinion, "Agreed."

Blaine asked as he and Sebastian came down the hall in the living room where everyone was gathered, "What are we agreeing?"

"Nothing, just plans after the breakfast. We were thinking of taking it easy and spending the afternoon by the pool. How does that sound to you both?"

"Sounds fine" Blaine replied while Sebastian just plopped down on the nearest vacant seating space and muttered, "Need coffee."

"Here and there's breakfast too," Brittany said while serving him breakfast and more coffee. Alice, Beat's girlfriend asked amused, "What happened to him?"

"He takes time waking up after a show. Don't try talking directly till he stops looking like a zombie, it doesn't work" Natasha commented.

"So he hasn't outgrown this habit yet?" Thad commented chuckling.

Hunter chuckled as well, "as you can see, he hasn't."

Sebastian said pointing at himself and making everyone laugh, "You know 'he' is right here Thaddeus."

"So nice of you to finally join the land of the living, good morning Sebastian," Thad said.

"Good morning guys and thanks for this delicious coffee and breakfast" Sebastian replied.

"Blaine did it" Natasha chimed in while Andrew added, "he made it all for everyone."

"Is that so B?" Sebastian asked to which Blaine just shrugged. "Well then, thank you," he said while kissing him on the cheek, which made Natasha and Andrew look at each other conspiratorially. Those looks weren't hidden either from Sebastian or Blaine but they didn't comment.

"Excuse me, everyone, I'm gonna go and feed my dog. I'll meet you all near the pool" Sebastian said once breakfast was cleared and left to go find Zeus while everyone else dispersed around the house.

Almost an hour later, everyone after changing into swimwear came out by the pool, which was quite huge just as the house. Even though some of them had just met for the first time yesterday, there was an ease of newly formed friendship between them. And seeing everyone enjoying each other's company made Blaine happy and relieved as it had been one of his concerns while planning this reunion, that there would be some kind of awkwardness with new additions.

Another surprising experience for Blaine was to watch Dave interacting so freely with everyone. Even though it had been years since he saw Dave's 'less than civil' persona, he was still a bit skeptical of him. And after seeing him at Sebastian's home couple of months earlier, he was still trying to figure him out. But now the man looked the picture of content listening to his 'now' fiancé Andrew chatting with girls all around them looking nothing like the high school bully he used to know. So people can definitely change if they want and if nothing else, they do grow up.

While he was people watching, Blaine saw Sebastian walk out to the pool in a simple T-shirt and swimming trunks with Zeus trailing behind him. He stopped by where Jeff, Nick, Beat, and Wes were in the water when they asked him to join them. On getting egged on by them, Sebastian immediately took off his t-shirt and threw it on the nearby chair where his towel was kept and dived into the pool. And to everyone's surprise, he was sporting a nipple piercing with various other tattoos, which garnered quite the reaction from Blaine. He didn't know he liked piercings till he saw one on Sebastian and it was definitely one of the sexiest things he'd ever seen.

"You're drooling hobbit" Santana commented looking amused to see Blaine blatantly objectify Sebastian. "Huh," was all Blaine could reply.

"I suggest getting into the water to hide your 'not so little' issue if you know what I mean. And stop looking and start pursuing. He won't be single forever"

"We're just friends Tana" Blaine replied looking anywhere but at Santana after getting embarrassed on getting caught by her.

"And I'm just blind. For what it's worth, I think nobody here will have any problem if you do make a move," Santana said walking away before Blaine could reply.

Blaine sat for a while alone after she walked away thinking about what Santana just said. Was it really okay if he decided to pursue Sebastian? Would Sebastian be favorable to his advances? Or was Santana just yanking his chain? On the other hand, he still hadn't really sorted out the history between him and Sebastian. Would it be fair to Sebastian if he decides to act on his desire for him now that he was single? He had just mended his friendship with the said man and now he wanted more than that. Did it make him selfish and self-centered to want Sebastian now after everything that happened between them years ago? And even bigger question is that did Sebastian reciprocate his feelings; did he want Blaine the same way he desires him?

A sudden splash of water pulled him out of his thoughts and Blaine saw the object of his dilemma ready to splash him again, "are you going to sit by the pool alone all day or get in the water killer?" Sebastian looked quite enticing with water droplets traveling down from his shoulders to the water as he waited for him to reply. He was certainly not making it easy for Blaine to keep his mind about him with looking so attractive. Time had been quite favorable to him physically, his once teenaged athletic physique had transformed into the spectacular adult version.

"See something you like Killer?" apparently the said man had been able to read what was going on Blaine's mind and didn't leave the opportunity to tease him about it.

"Why yes, I do. I didn't know that you had this done" Blaine said pointing vaguely to Sebastian's piercing.

Sebastian replied with his ever-present smirk, "Result of drunken debauchery with Hunter, he has one too"

"Did you get them together?"

"Yeah we did"

"Why do I feel there's a story behind this?" Blaine asked with his eyebrow arched in intrigue.

"There is one but I'll tell you only if you be a good boy and come in the water. Boys are thinking of having a volleyball match, girls vs. boys," Sebastian told him.

"I don't think there are enough girls for equal distribution of teams so why don't I be the referee?"

"Well Andrew and I will be playing from girl's side and Dave has already been decided as the referee so you'll need to loose the t-shirt and come in the water. What's the matter? Why aren't you coming?" he asked sensing that there was something else going in Blaine's mind.

"Uhh..."

Sebastian guessed that it was something about Blaine's scars after seeing him hesitate once again, "If you're getting self-conscious about your scars, don't be. You are surrounded by your friends; nobody will judge you here. And if you ask my opinion, I don't think they're that prominent that anyone might notice them since you know, I've seen them from very near. You've organized such a great reunion, why don't you come and enjoy it."

"You know, you're very persuasive" Blaine replied after a moment.

Sebastian smirked, "Enough to sell ice to Eskimos?"

"Yea, yea" Soon the game started once the net was fixed and teams took places. Even though the girls were not as good as the boys, they won by the collective effort of Kayla, Andrew, and Sebastian since Kayla and Andrew had played college volleyball.

As Sebastian was floating around on the float in the pool, he observed that the girls fitted seamlessly with the boys and all of his friends were also accepted with open hands. The warbler camaraderie that he never let himself be a part of in the past was all around him. People both from his past and present were interacting without any hiccup and it became possible because of Blaine. Maybe Blaine was one of the reasons why he didn't keep a touch with the warblers but now they were back in his life again because of him. And this time he didn't feel any hesitation to let them welcome him into their tight-knit group, moreover their welcome was extended to the new additions because of him.

But above everything else, he truly appreciated the sense of being normal. None of his friends, old and new treated him differently, like a celebrity or even an outsider, which was one concern that he had earlier. It was like he never left and he genuinely cherished having them back in his life.


	20. Chapter 20

The next part of the day was spent with everyone just enjoying themselves and basically seeing just how crazy they all were. Blaine was relieved at how well everyone was getting along with each other. The last thing he wanted was a serious clash of personalities.

By the time sun went down, grill and barbecue were set up, drinks were flowing and Beat found a karaoke machine in the living room. "Guys, look what I've found?" Soon enough the machine was set up and songs were cued up. "Since we know that you boys have great voices, why don't you start? Come on, show us if you still got it" Santana said.

"Oh, we still got it," Nick said getting up to choose the song. He asked Wes, Jeff, Thad, and Hunter. "Hey guys, I've got one of your favs all cued up, ready to go." The boys were in perfect harmony as they sung _Are You Gonna Be My Girl_ by _Jet_ and it was clear whom they were singing to.

"These guys are good," Natasha said to Quinn.

"Good thing we are too," Quinn replied as she, Sophia, Natasha, and Alice got up to give a stunning rendition of _Girls Just Want To Have Fun_ by _Cyndi Lauper_.

"Come on, we're going to sing next," Santana said pulling Blaine up to sing with her without giving him a chance to deny.

"You know you're too bossy," Blaine said.

"And you're getting to know that now" she replied while selecting the song to which he could only roll his eyes. Santana pulled up a _Maroon 5_ which she knew everybody especially Sebastian would approve of. And by the looks of it, he did as Blaine got into the song and started enjoying it while pulling some dance moves.

Andrew nudged Sebastian, "your boy definitely has some moves there." Sebastian just gave him the stink eye and kept on cheering Blaine instead of a verbal reaction. "What? He does" Andrew shrugged.

"I'm onto your little game Parker," Sebastian said with his eyes showing suspicion.

"What game? I'm just observing. I've to give it you, he's lived up to the hype and I can see why you are so smitten"

"Was," Sebastian noted.

"Semantics" Andrew dismissed.

When Blaine came back after the song was done, Sebastian said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but killer, damn those hips and Santana, you were sexy as always"

"Why thank you, Mr. Smythe. I knew you'd agree with our song choice" Santana replied as Blaine smiled looking a bit flushed with Sebastian's compliment.

Once the party mood was set, the karaoke machine was given a good work out by the group. Songs old and new in various combinations were performed with fervor and as the night fell, only a few of them had yet to perform.

"So who's next?" Chloe asked looking to pass the mic

"I'd like to hear from the infamous unholy trinity," Dave said while leaning back on the chaise.

"Only if we get to hear you sing Mr. Karofsky" Santana sassed.

"Deal" he replied while getting up to the makeshift stage. This was the first time a lot of them were going to hear him sing so they didn't know what to expect. Only a handful of the people present knew that Dave had a great voice on him and he could hold his own in front of them.

"It's been a while since we were called that," Brittany said as Santana came to sit with her.

"It has"

"Has anyone of you heard him sing before?" Quinn asked looking at them.

Santana told her, "We have and you're going to be surprised." And when Dave started singing _I've Got You Under My Skin_ by _Frank Sinatra_ leaving everyone was astonished, "You were right, he's got a great voice. Why didn't we know this already? He could've joined new directions" Quinn commented.

"I don't think he was in the right mindset to join glee at that time. You know being part of Glee club was tough at that time"

Blaine commented while clapping for Dave, "Can you imagine the drama that would've unfolded if Kurt and Dave were in glee club together? The jocks would've had a field day with that"

Dave told the trio after he kissed Andrew once he came back, "you're up next." The three girls got up and walked towards the karaoke setup with so much flare that Blaine knew they were going to give another out of the park performance. And the trio didn't disappoint one bit as they sung _Bang Bang_ by _Ariana Grande, Jessie J, and Nicki Minaj_ which had everyone up on their feet and clapping and shouting with them.

"You girls certainly brought your A game tonight. We were karaoke good but you, you guys knocked the song out of the park," Natasha said.

"Thank you, it's all because of the glee club at our high school" Brittany replied and sweetly added, "and you guys were great too."

"Thank you, Brittany," Chloe said.

Kayla commented, "I don't think anybody here is exactly tone deaf. Every one of us can carry a tune, some better than others"

"That we all can agree with," Santana said.

"What are we agreeing to ladies?" Sebastian asked as he sat down with them.

"That we need to hear from you Sebastian, don't we ladies?" Quinn said looking around.

"You just heard me sing yesterday, wasn't it enough?" when everyone replied in negative and started prodding, Sebastian pulled Andrew and Thad with him to take the stage.

"Any ideas of what he's going to do?" Wes asked.

Jeff said, "None, but knowing him, I'm sure we're in for a treat."

Once Sebastian found a song to his liking he called out, "guys, you can join in this one too." When the starting beats of _Uptown Funk_ by _Mark Ronson_ came up, they understood why he said what he did. Once the chorus came, the boys joined him while dancing to the steps. When the song came to an end since they were enjoying so much, somebody kept queuing up songs performed by warblers and soon enough each one of them was singing and dancing with matching steps.

"I didn't think a bunch of prep school boys would ever perform a song about blowjobs," Natasha said while cheering as the warblers sang _Whistle_ by _Flo Rida._

"You can thank your fiancé for that. He was clearly out of mind at that time" Santana said.

Blaine said, "Only thing they're missing right now is their blazer"

Once _Glad You Came_ was found, everyone was clapping for the boys. Sebastian took the lead on and they recreated the original all over again. With Blaine being front and center lauding his friends, his sole focus was Sebastian who was in his element. Watching him perform the song again like he did in high school made Blaine realize that this was when he first saw Sebastian in a whole new light and it made him recognize that he always had feelings for him, even back then.

"I think this weekend was a success," Santana said as she threw her arm around him.

"I think so too" Blaine agreed, "It's nice to see all of my friends having a great time together."

"You guys really wanted him to be back with you all, didn't you?" Brittany asked while filling her and Santana's cup with drinks as the three of them walked to where the drinks station was set up near the pool.

"More than you know. Somewhere in my heart I always knew that I was the reason Sebastian cut his ties with the boys while I was back in the fold with them and I wanted to change that as soon as possible. You don't know the extent of how much he was missed by all of us," Blaine said looking down.

Santana told him putting a hand on his shoulder again making him look at her, "Well, lucky for you, he's back. And Blaine, though I don't know what went on in Sebastian's mind when he decided to do what he did but stop feeling guilty for things that were/are not in your hand."

"It's not easy Santana," Blaine said with his eyes filled with anguish.

Quinn told him as she joined them once she heard what they were talking about, "Again only Sebastian is responsible for his actions just as you're for yours. You didn't force him to take any decisions; he took them on his own. So you can't keep on blaming everything on yourself, you were just a misguided teenager back then, you didn't think your actions through in the heat of the moment and things got out of hand. It's not like Sebastian was a saint back then, he made his own fair share of mistakes just like each one of us did, some of us more than others. But what you can do right now is that you can make things right when you've got the opportunity."

"When did you become so wise and sensitive Q?" Santana said trying to lighten the suddenly heavy moment.

"Time and life teaches you a lot. And I've always tried to be sensitive to the people who deserved it, it's just that with people like us, only a few dare to see beneath the surface" Quinn told her.

Brittany said hugging her from behind, "just like my Santana."

"That's something I'm gathering after observing people that I misjudged earlier," Blaine said.

"You're talking about Hunter and Dave," Quinn asked.

"And Sebastian. Even when he apologized and I forgave him; somewhere in the back of my mind I didn't and kept seeing in the same light as before, kept misjudging his actions and intentions and it has cost me. Did he do some questionable deeds? Yes, but he did fix them once he realized how out of hand the situation got but I kept hanging his mistakes over him."

"It's okay Blaine, sometimes we need time to coordinate our heart and our minds. You just took a lot longer."

"More like more than half a decade" Blaine grumbled looking away at Sebastian dancing with Andrew and Jeff.

"Maybe this is a sign that you guys should start over, a fresh start," Quinn told him.

"It's not that simple Quinn" Blaine said before walking away.

"It is if you make it Blaine," she shouted at his retreating figure.

When they transitioned to a rendition of _Sexy And I Know It_ , Andrew waved them over to the makeshift dance floor. "Guys, you need to come see this, your warbler friends are taking the stage once again."

"This is going to be epic as they've all had more than a few drinks," Santana said just before the music started. Blaine looked over at her who was recording all the shenanigans. When the music started, everyone started laughing and yelling out.

"They're definitely drunk," Blaine, said as the guys started singing _Meghan Trainor_.

"They're even doing the same moves to tell that they've watched the video enough times," Andrew added. Despite being as drunk as they were, the guys sounded great and were more theatrical than ever by the time the last number was over.

The next morning brought hangovers to those who had a bit more to drink than they should so everyone had adopted a sluggish pace. While most of the girls had gone out to play tennis, more than a few of them were out on the back deck appraising the great weather and enjoying coffee in the quiet morning air.

"Only thing that I miss living in the city is having your own yard like this" Wes said as he walked to the railing.

"Agreed. Though the parks fill the need yet they don't replace having morning coffee in fresh air like this every day" Nick said.

"That's the price of living in high-rises in the city," Thad shrugged.

Sebastian said coming out with a cup of coffee in his hand, "good morning everyone, what are we discussing this fine morning?"

"Good morning to you too. You look quite chipper and a lot different than yesterday morning," Beat said.

"That's because I'm not hung over and had a goodnight's sleep. So what are we discussing?" Sebastian asked.

Blaine told him, "just that we miss having a backyard like this in the city since we all live in apartments"

"Yeah having your own open space is good."

"Like you should talk about. You've nothing to miss about, we've been enjoying your pool and rooftop garden all summer" Santana told them.

Sebastian cut in while throwing his arm around her, "while I'm slaving away all over the country. Why don't we do something at my place once I'm back in the city for good?"

"That sounds great. It'll be great to hang out again once you're back in New York" Jeff agreed.

"So, do your parents know that you guys are here in Ohio?" he asked.

Wes told him, "They do, and some of us actually met them on Friday before driving out here. They would've had our heads if we didn't even inform them about being so close."

"That's responsible thing to do, I'm sure they appreciated the visit however small it was"

"They sure did but Blaine is going to visit his parents tomorrow. Since his internship is over, he'll be spending some time here while we all go back to our lives"

"Lucky you B. I hope that you have a great time with parentals," Sebastian said and then continued when he saw the time, "and excuse me, I need to feed Zeus and get ready since my mom is going to be here soon. She's a stickler for punctuality."

"I don't think we ever met his mom," David said a while after Sebastian left."Well, then you guys are in for a surprise because you know her and that too very well," Hunter told them looking smug all of a sudden.

Wes asked taking interest once he saw Hunter's demeanor change, "What do you mean Hunter?"

"I'm not going to spoil it now and I forbid you to go on the Internet and search," Hunter told them looking at each and every one of them.

"That sounds a lot like the 'old' Hunter" Thad commented challengingly stretching his legs and crossing his ankles.

"Please guys, just let me have this one. I'll even thank you all in my next book" Hunter said earnestly yet looking like the cat that ate the canary.

"Now I'm much more intrigued" Beat commented.

"Just half an hour guys," Hunter said looking at the time.

"Blaine, did you meet Sebastian's mother?" Thad asked after thinking for a while about who could be Sebastian's mother but when he shook his head in negative he added scrunching his face in thought, "how did you have a secret affair with a person but not know who their parents are? Didn't you guys ever go to his house or something?"

Santana snickered before Blaine could say anything, "they used to hook up in a motel in the middle of Dalton and McKinley, real classy these guys." It brought everyone's gaze on Blaine, which turned his ears red and made everyone chuckle.

"What? It was convenient and 'secret' being the keyword, it was discrete" Blaine explained finding a way out of his embarrassment after a second. Blaine could only wish Sebastian was here, as he would've had a better chance at handling this than him.

"Never pegged you as the motel type of guy Blainey," David said throwing his arm around Blaine's shoulder.

"It was a great motel" was all Blaine could reply.

"Whatever you say. But coming back to Seb's mom, apart from Hunter and Santana here, nobody knows who she is?" Thad asked.

"But why are you so excited about us meeting Sebastian's mom, Hunter?" Wes asked when Hunter and Santana nodded their heads and smiled in mischief with each other.

"You'll get why he's acting the way he is once you meet her," Santana told them.

When the bell at the main door rang, Hunter got up and said, "I think that's her. Santana make sure everyone's here while I get Seb's mom, okay?" Hunter left everyone out on the back deck and sent a message to Henry and Matt to inform them that Sebastian would leave soon as he walked to the main gate to get Mrs. Smythe.

Annalise looked as beautiful and poised as Hunter remembered her from his time at Dalton as he opened the door for her. Annalise said giving him a hug, "Hello Hunter, how are you?"

"Just fine Mrs. Smythe" Hunter replied kissing her on the cheek.

"Is Sebastian ready?" she asked as he took her coat.

"He'll be here just in a moment. Why don't you come and meet everyone while he comes down? The warblers are here and I think they'll love to see you again"

"Very well. I believe that they'll be a bit shocked when they'll find out that I'm related to Sebastian" she told him as Hunter escorted her to where everyone was waiting for them.

"I think in a good way," Hunter told her.

"Let's find out, shall we?" Annalise said smiling as she opened the door and greeted, "Hello gentlemen."

"Headmistress Rhodes…"

"Told you that you'd be shocked," Santana said while walking towards Annalise to greet her. "Hey Annalise, you look lovely as ever," she said while hugging her and shocking everyone except Hunter in the process.

Hunter said chuckling at the stunned faces of the warblers, "Where are my manners? Let me make introductions. Guys meet Sebastian's stepmother, Mrs. Annalise Rhodes-Smythe, and Mrs. Smythe, you already know the warblers."

Annalise told them fondly, "It's good to see you all again and please call me Mrs. Smythe since I'm here as Sebastian's mother and not as Dalton's principal"

"Yes Mrs. Smythe, it's been years and it's good to see you too" Wes was the first to respond while the others were still reeling from the shock.

"Always the gentleman Mr. Montgomery," she said while shaking hands with him.

"Yes ma'am and please call me Wes"

Annalise told them while taking a seat, "Very well Wes, why don't we all sit down? So what have you been doing since high school Wes, as I recall you were accepted to Harvard."

"You remember correct Mrs. Smythe. And I'm currently working for an MNC in New York"

"Quite an accomplishment you have there and what about you all," she asked looking at them which broke the ice and one by one everyone told Annalise what they were doing since graduating high school and at last, Blaine's turn came. "And what are you doing right now Mr. Anderson, still chasing Broadway and singing as a career?"

"No ma'am and please call me Blaine, Mr. Anderson is my father. And I'm pursuing a doctorate degree in psychology from Columbia" Blaine told her.

"So you'll be a doctor soon, a noble profession I must say but I assumed that you'd be going to a performing arts school and making a career in the entertainment sector."

"Yes ma'am, at first I thought so too but someone made me realize that I needed to pursue my own dreams and not try to fulfill what others expected of me. I always wanted to work with children and being a psychologist will give me an opportunity to help them. Somewhere in between high school, I lost that dream but thanks to that person I'm glad that I found it again and I'm very happy with my chosen education and future profession," he told her with the smile.

She told looking pointedly that made him remember she used to be Dalton's headmistress as well, "Well then I think you should cherish that person as he/she gives very good advice."

"I do ma'am," Blaine said lacking the earlier exuberance voice.

Sebastian had been listening to his stepmother for a few minutes now and it looked that things were getting a bit out of hand so he made an entrance, "I see that you've met my stepmother. Mom, 9:45 is still not 10:00 and you look lovely."

"You look handsome as well my darling, you know how I am with my time, and I think your friends are a tad stunned finding out that we're related," Annalise said as she got up to hug him.

Sebastian said explaining, "That I can see. Sorry guys that I didn't mention that our headmistress was also my stepmother. At first, I didn't want you to treat me differently and then it was easier that way."

"It's fine Seb. It doesn't change a thing," Nick told him.

"Great then. Sebastian, my darling, why don't we get to our breakfast and let everybody else gets to theirs. Gentlemen, it was nice catching up, have a good day" Annalise said smiling.

"It was nice seeing you again head…Mrs. Smythe" Trent said coming forward to shake hands with her.

"You too Mr. Russell. Everyone, have a good day"

When Wes came back from seeing Sebastian and his stepmother out, everyone was still buzzing with surprise, "Hunter you could've given us a warning? I mean headmistress Rhodes was the last person I thought I would see today and that too as Sebastian's stepmother."

"Guys chill. It's not that big of a deal" Hunter shrugged.

"Except it is. Does she know about everything that happened after Sebastian joined Dalton? Jeff asked.

Hunter told them, "Yes she does, even about my mess. How do you think each one of us was able to walk away with a blemish on our records and college transcripts after everything went down?"

"She never gave us any sign. I wonder what she thinks about us," David said looking around.

Thad said, "You do remember whose stepmother she is. Whatever you did, Sebastian did it worse."

"Not necessarily, he didn't have any hand in the steroid-gate. On the other hand, he was the one who got us out of that mess before it could reach to anybody else's ear" Trent told them.

"Now that we know, I can see how we never caught the worse of it. My father would've killed me if he would've found out that I was thinking of using performance enhancing drugs for a show choir competition" Nick said.

Hunter said, "Exactly. Why do you think I wasn't expelled and sent to jail? I got off very easy with just rehab, probation, and community service for the rest of the year. I wasn't even sad to be removed from warblers after I got clean, Sebastian deserved to be captain"

"Did she also know that he threw the slushy that injured Blaine?" Wes asked giving a small smile to Blaine.

"Sebastian didn't tell her that it was him until after he found out that Blaine was alright. He showed her the tape that I made later" Santana told them.

The morning's revelations floated around for a while around till Trent broke the silence, "Wow, it's like we didn't even know the person who was living 5 feet near us for almost 2 years"

Thad said looking as is he was trying to place things together, "I always thought that something was going on between Sebastian and headmistress Rhodes…"

"What do you mean by that Thad?" David asked when he saw that Thad didn't end his thought after a second.

"Come on, don't say I was the only one suspicious of how Seb was so easily able to flout all the regulations and curfew without even batting an eyelash" Thad pointed out.

"Well, it makes sense now…" Nick agreed.

Jeff added, "And how he used to get into long winding pointless discussions with other teachers at Dalton when they used to irritate him but he never disrespected headmistress Rhodes, I'd even say he behaved very respectfully towards her and now we know why…"

Thad continued recalling his experience as Sebastian's roommate for a short while, "Now that you're pointing out, he always had access to everywhere and nobody actually ever said anything to him. I used to think that it was because his grades were perfect and he had something over the faculties that he almost had a free pass. Even the warden never said anything to him after catching him several times after curfew"

"And why we never got any big punishments for everything that happened with Blaine and steroids" Beat chimed in.

Hunter told them, "There were punishments, just not for you. Seb took all of the responsibility on himself alone so only he was punished badly"

"But there was practically no punishment" Trent argued.

"It was there, you all just didn't know about it," Santana said.

"Can you tell us what was it?" Wes asked while the rest were thinking about what they were just told.

"As you already know Seb's post as Warbler captain was taken away but other than that he was put into single occupancy away from all and made to do community service for the entire summer while being grounded for the entire time," she told him.

"He was also put on probation for the senior year," Hunter added.

"And he was responsible for cleaning up your mess even when he wasn't involved in it as he thought it was his responsibility as former captain to see if his team members were alright or not when their current captain was going steroid crazy," Santana said.

Hunter told, "He even made sure that there was no record of your mistakes on your college applications by reducing your punishments to just community service and stuff like that"

"We never knew this…" Jeff said looking utterly heartbroken.

"Nobody knew," Blaine said breaking his silence since Hunter and Santana started revealing what really went down at Dalton that wasn't public knowledge. He was completely shocked that not only the warblers were in the dark about all this he was too as he had spent a lot of time with Sebastian during senior year. He had practically spent the whole winter with the boy and he didn't have a clue to what was going on Sebastian's end while on the other hand, Sebastian knew everything that was going in Blaine's life. It was a clear picture of how out of touch Blaine had become at that time despite spending enough time with him. They used to hang out almost every day and yet Blaine didn't know what was really going on at Dalton with his friends and Sebastian at that time.

"But you knew didn't you," Trent asked earnestly pulling Blaine out of his thoughts.

Blaine shook his head in negative to everyone's disappointment as they were hoping at least Blaine knew about all this but clearly, he hadn't. "I, Dave, Santana, and Britt were the only ones that knew about all of this apart from Seb and his parents," Hunter told them.

Nick said clutching his head in his hands and looking down, "God we were so blind…"

"Yes you were, there were so many times that I wanted to come down and give you all a piece of mind but I was forbidden to do so," Santana told them.

"This is why he never wanted us in his life, we never…" Jeff said in an almost similar state as his best friend.

"You were always on your high horses even when you were not that different from him. Sebastian did some horrible things but you guys were a part of it too. Just because he pulled the trigger didn't mean he was the only culprit. While you were given a clean slate after apologizing just one time, he wasn't. And this is one of the reasons he kept his distance from you all even after he 'supposedly' turned a new leaf" Hunter told them.


	21. Chapter 21

Nick asked Hunter, "Can you tell us how he got you to back off from us? From what I remember, you said that you had something on everybody, even Sebastian."

"By the tried and tested method of recording him when Sebastian confronted him. We know where he got the idea," Santana told them looking pleased.

"I tried to blackmail him back saying that I'll tell everybody how he was seeing Blaine behind everyone's back and a bunch of other stuff. Of course, he didn't care about anything that I said and he showed me the tape recording of my confession. After that I had to admit I was caught and did what he asked of me" Hunter said.

Trent asked, "If you knew about everything hunter then why didn't you confront us about how we were treating Sebastian? I get why Santana didn't but you didn't become friends with Sebastian until after you came back from rehab"

"When my parents made me go to rehab, I thought that Sebastian would take the reins back and everything would be back to how it was before I entered the scene but it didn't pan out how I imagined. By the time I came back, Sebastian had been reinstated as captain but he didn't spend much time with anyone. And then on top of it, he had just broken up with Blaine and stopped caring about everything altogether. I confronted him but he just brushed me off and asked to leave things alone. I was already in debt to him for saving my ass so I did what he asked and left him alone" he shrugged.

Thad implored, "You should've said something. Clearly, Sebastian's head wasn't in the right place at that time and you just went with it"

"You think I didn't try enough. If you remember correctly he was deep in his wallowing emo-phase and had absolutely no patience for anybody. He was having enough issues of his own with his father so I didn't want to rock the boat anymore. I did what I felt right and became his friend, well as much as he allowed."

"We need to discuss this with him, apologize and say thank you for everything. He's done a lot for us," David suggested.

When there was a unison response received, Hunter suggested, "Just an advice, if he says its fine, accept it and don't push it further. He doesn't like people seeing him anything other than what he wants everyone to perceive him as. So if he brushes things off which he probably would then don't take it the wrong way, okay?"

"We'll keep it in mind and we'll test out his mood before we open our dialogue when he comes back," Thad told him.

"That'll help too but I think things will be in your favor already since he always gets in good mood after spending time with his mom"

"Are they close?" Wes asked.

"Very," Santana said.

While the ex-warblers were having discussions about past Sebastian brought up that he wasn't pleased with what he heard earlier, "I heard how different you were with Blaine; you were a bit harsh with him Mom" Sebastian said while looking at his stepmother. They were sitting in the backseat of the car while Henry was driving them to the restaurant.

"So."

"Nothing, I'm sure somebody in that room must have noticed it too," Sebastian said looking out of the window now.

"Again so" Annalise replied nonchalantly again.

"You know you are infuriating when you do that," he said with annoyance coloring his tone.

"I learned from the best," she said coolly.

Sebastian said with an eyebrow arched, "I'm not sure whom you are pointing fingers at"

"A certain 20-something who needs to give me some explanation," Annalise said looking at Sebastian for the first time since they got in the car.

"What…? They are my high school friends who I met years later and we are rekindling our friendship" he shrugged.

"I think 'high school friends' is quite a loose term for people who you didn't keep any contact with for years after spending close quarters with them for almost 2 years. I didn't even hear any of their names from your mouth in the last half decade" she argued.

Sebastian said taking her hand in his making her looking at him, "come on mom, we were confused teenagers back then. I made some mistakes, they did too, and now everything is forgiven and forgotten so you should do that too"

"I can't do it so easily, I brought you back to states so that you could get over everything that happened in Paris. Make new friends here, someone of your age and become the happy child again that I left in London with your father but somehow Dalton made things worse so I'm sorry if I'm a bit wary of your 'newly re-kindled friendships'" Annalise told him explaining where her caution was coming from.

"I understand but can you please tone down the wariness a bit, I'll appreciate that a lot. I'm not a teenager anymore. And you didn't need to interrogate Blaine, we're just friends."

"I just wanted to know how he was doing" she shrugged casually while patting Zeus.

"Mom please, you're not fooling anybody. Whatever he did, I did worse. I injured him, tried to sabotage his relationship, and terrorized his friends so I don't think your anger with him is justified. Let go of what happened in past"

"Have you? Have you let go of the past?"

"Yes," Sebastian replied in a voice that left no room for discussion.

Annalise didn't want to ruin Sebastian's mood deliberately so she decided to follow his lead and said, "I understand your perspective, and I should appreciate how mature you have become. You don't give yourself enough credit. I just wish everybody could know the real you than the façade you put up for the world."

"You have to say that because you're my mother" Sebastian just rolled his eyes.

"No because it's the truth," she argued but then looked outside to realize that they were at their destination, "great, we're here. Let's do brunch and then I was thinking of maybe some shopping afterward. After that, if you want we can swing by to see how the arrangements for tonight's event are coming together. What do you think?"

"Lead the way."

It had been much too long since they had done something like this together. Annalise was happy to catch up with everything that Sebastian was doing on tour and while he was hesitant to talk about his new 'old' friends with her, she decided to let him take lead on that. Both of them wanted a peaceful day together so they shied away from the potential landmines that could ruin each other's mood but that didn't last for long.

"So, where's Father today?" Sebastian asked with enough fake causality in his voice as they were near to the rental home he was staying at.

Annalise replied after searching his face for a minute, "D.C. he's busy with some high profile cases"

"When isn't he busy? Doesn't he know that you're throwing an event together?" he said looking outside.

"I'm sorry Seb, I know how…"

"It's okay mom, it's nothing new and it should be him who needs to apologize to you." he brushed off.

Even though she didn't want to do it like this, Annalise decided to rip the Band-Aid off, "Sebastian, actually I've something to tell you."

"Sure"

"I'm resigning from Dalton and moving to New York" she dropped the bomb.

"That's some news but why?" Sebastian asked after processing the news for a minute.

"I've put enough years at Dalton and I don't find the same pleasure in it that I used to. You're in New York now and I want to come home too just like you did. Mom and dad are getting old and I want to be near them. It's become hard living alone when your father is away all the time," she told him.

Sebastian asked the one question that Annalise was dreading, "All those are good enough reasons but what about Father? What does he think about this decision, his job is here?"

"He's thinking of moving to bigger and better things in New York and this decision couldn't have come at a better time for him," she told him vaguely.

Once he saw that they pulled in the driveway, he asked Annalise once they got out, "Of course. Can you answer a question for me?" He asked even though he knew what his stepmother's answer would be, "Was this your decision or father's? Whose idea was it?"

"That's two question but I'll answer them. It was his idea but it was a mutual decision. Your father is thinking of trying his hand at politics and with both of our families' contacts in the city, we thought it was best to move to New York. Your father would appreciate your support as his son" Annalise told him knowing that this would set Sebastian off.

And the response was all she imagined, "No."

"Sebastian please," she said earnestly putting her arm on his shoulder as they stood looking at each other while Henry was taking out all the shopping bags.

"No, you already know I'm done with him. I won't be part of anything that he has planned, politics or otherwise" he told her brushing her arm off.

"Seb please, listen to me," she implored.

"No mom, you listen to me. You can go back to your husband and tell him that I had disowned him years ago. He hasn't been my father for years so I can't be his son now" Sebastian vehemently refused as he walked back inside the house.

Annalise shouted trying to stop him as she chased him, "You misunderstand him Seb."

"No, I understand him the best. I shouldn't have come here, I hate this place, and I hate him. He ruins everything. If your husband is the reason why you're moving back to New York, then don't. I don't want him in my city" Sebastian told her in a raised voice as he stopped at the last step of the grand staircase before running upstairs.

"Sebastian please, Seb…SEBASTIAN" was all Annalise could shout at his disappearing figure on the staircase.

"What happened Annalise? Why did he run away?" Natasha asked as everybody came out after hearing the commotion.

"I told him that his father and I are moving to New York and some other things about his father. He got upset and you know how his relationship with his father is," she told her quietly.

"Yeah but don't worry, I'm sure he'll calm down soon. Just give him time to process things and he'll be fine" Natasha told her while others tried to give the two space to talk since they didn't understand what was happening.

Annalise told Natasha as they walked inside the parlor, "You know his anger is justified and I can't fault him for it. I just wish his father understands how difficult he makes things for Sebastian with his actions. They both are so alike that I just can't…"

"It's okay Annalise, it'll get better someday" was all Natasha could say despite knowing about the majority of the situation.

"When Natasha? Since the day I've come in their lives, I've tried everything to make things work between them but it just doesn't happen. He was in such a good mood and I've ruined it."

"Why don't I make you some coffee while Sebastian is done with his temper tantrum. I see a lot of shopping bags, find something good?"

"You don't need to handle me Natasha but I'll humor you," Annalise said as they walked towards the kitchen. While upstairs Blaine and Hunter were trying to find headway with Sebastian across the locked door.

"What happened Sebastian? Why don't you unlock the door and we'll sort it out," Blaine said while knocking the door. Despite coercion, they didn't get any response apart from hearing glass being thrown at the wall.

"He's definitely angry if he's throwing things," Brittany said.

"I don't even understand what happened. One second they were hugging each other and next I heard him shout through the driveway. I don't think I've heard him shout at anybody before" Blaine said.

"I'm sure this is something related to his dad otherwise he's practically cool most of the times. Let him be, he'll be fine in a few minutes. I'm sure Zeus will handle him if things do go out of hand."

"Yeah. And if you hear now, everything is quiet. Let's go wait for him downstairs, he'll come soon," Santana said.

The four of them went downstairs to wait for Sebastian to come out while the others were patiently waiting to find out what happened but they didn't ask any questions when they saw that Sebastian hadn't returned with them.

While the girls were keeping Annalise company by asking questions about how their respective boyfriends' used to be in school, her mind was still on Sebastian's previous outburst. She said to Natasha while taking a sip from her coffee, "I shouldn't have sprung this upon him when he has performances today. I thought he'd be happy that I was moving near him but…"

"I'll let you talk and Sebastian, the band is back and resting at the hotel. We'll leave at 3 for the sound check" Natasha said when she saw Sebastian enter the kitchen and with that, they were left alone.

Sebastian just nodded at her in thanks and then addressed Annalise, "I'm sorry about my outburst mom, I shouldn't have behaved like that. But for what it's worth, I'm glad that you're moving to New York and I support your decision, let me know if you need some help. But if your husband thinks that I'll stand beside him in anything, then he's sorely mistaken. He hasn't been my father for years now so he shouldn't start acting like one just for the sake of it. Again I'm extremely sorry that I've put you in between us again but he started it and I'm ending it."

"It's okay and I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have sprung this on you so suddenly out of the blue. Actually, your reaction was more passive than I had expected. And rest assured, I think your father also knows that he's reaching an unattainable goal if he thinks that he could put a perfect front after his actions in the past," she told him.

He asked changing the subject, "Have you thought what are you going to do once you resign from Dalton? I don't think you're cut out to be a housewife or New York socialite"

"I was thinking of playing it by the ear, take it as it comes. By the way, have you made plans about what you are going to do once you are off tour?"

"I have some things lined up for at least a month or two but after that, who knows. We could wing it together if you'd like, maybe take a long vacation or go to your parents home in Hamptons" Sebastian suggested.

"I think your grandparents will like that and I'm all for spending time with you. This was the sole reason I wanted to move to New York, to be with my family" she replied with a smile.

"So are we okay?"

"Yes, we are. Now, are you going to be fine with being in the same city as your father?"

"I think New York's large enough for both of us that we don't cross each other's path anytime soon. It's not like he runs in the same circles as I do so chances are we'll be fine," he told her but then thought out loud, "Though the last time I said that for somebody, they literally came to my house almost an hour later."

"I won't say that I understood what you said there but, what about family gatherings? Are we thinking some kind of custody arrangement about that too?" she asked casually.

"I'm sure we'll work out something for them too. It's not like I'm short on family, I could always go to Paris or London" Sebastian shrugged.

"Is that your plan? To hide away?"

He smirked, "On the top of my head, it is. I'll come up with others when I give it more thought."

"Sebastian, I'm not joking, are you serious about not seeing your father at all?"

"Yes I am Mother, I haven't been serious about anything more that this in my whole life. I don't want to mar my last memory of him with an inevitable fight that will surely happen if we ever came face to face."

"Your words like such are making me question my decision now. Maybe distance is much better for the two of you," she said pensively.

"You made your decision after having the discussion with your husband. Now you know my opinion so now you can change your decision if you want, I'll support only you either way but it'll be great to have you closer" he told her.

"Yes it will and I'm still moving. We'll talk later in evening. But before that let's go out and apologize to everybody for creating a spectacle, it was completely rude of us" she suggested.

"I'm sure they loved you seeing anything other than their high school headmistress" Sebastian smirked.

"Not funny Seb. Remember, you were the one who wanted to keep us a secret, not me"

"Did you hear what you just said?" he couldn't help but chuckle.

She agreed, "Yes I did but the essence remains the same. I love you and it hurt me that you didn't let me have the opportunity to be your mother in front of your friends"

"I'm sorry"

"It's okay baby," Annalise said cupping his cheek lovingly.

"Now that's a bit too far," he replied indignantly.

She teased, "Aww Sebby."

"Really mom, you too. It's fine if Brittany does it, not you" was all he could say to deter her as they walked back to the living room.

"You're so easy to rile up sometimes"

"You two seem to be in a good mood now, everything sorted out?" Hunter asked taking the lead as everybody was waiting for them to come out.

"Yes it did Hunter but I should apologize to you all for the both of us for how we acted, it was quite rude of us," Annalise said addressing everyone while Sebastian just added, "Yeah sorry guys."

"It's fine Mrs. Smythe, it's not like you haven't handled our neurotic fights and less than stellar actions back in high school. After all that, you get a free pass for the next decade" Jeff told them smiling.

"Just a decade huh. Might I recall Mr. Sterling, your impromptu dance performances with less than appropriate clothing were a talk of staff room for quite a while during sophomore year; I had to watch surveillance footage for enough time to identify the perpetrator. That trauma I think gives me a free pass for the rest of my life" Annalise replied showing that she was partly responsible for Sebastian's devious nature making everyone laugh.

"Oh my god, I'm sitting on the goldmine" was all Sebastian could say after seeing each of the Dalton alumni's shocked faces.

"You're crafty Mrs. Smythe, you need to tell us all the embarrassing stories now," Sophia said looking excited to find all about her normally disciplined boyfriend.

"Sebastian, really. Do you want to open the can of worms since I have the most ammunition on you? These poor boys were angels in front of you," she said looking at him challengingly.

"I think I'll be waving the white flag for the rest of us" was all Sebastian could do, as he didn't want to know if his stepmother was joking or not.

"Good call, it's a sign of wisdom to know when to admit defeat. And on that note, I'll be taking your leave. It was nice catching up with everyone, you all have done well in your life and made your parents as well as Dalton proud. It's admirable to find out that you've not only achieved the best in your lives but you've also defended my trust on you. You all could've easily gone down the wrong path after I hid your mistakes from the concerned authorities but you didn't. You learned your lesson and became better individuals because of your mistakes and that's a sign of a solid personality which is what Dalton is all about"

"We can only thank you for saving futures from getting destroyed and Sebastian too. If you two hadn't done what you did for us, we would've never gone to the colleges of our choice and we're extremely grateful that we could make you proud of us" Thad said.

Wes told her, "And you've raised an admirable man headmistress Rhodes."

"Thank you Wes and you should start calling me Mrs. Smythe or even Annalise as I'm resigning Dalton soon to move to New York. It's not public knowledge as of yet but it will be soon. So I'm not Dalton's headmistress anymore" she told them.

"Even then you'll be always our headmistress Rhodes but we can all you Mrs. Smythe."

"And welcome to New York, we'll love to have you near as well," Trent said with a smile.

"Thank you, Jeff and Trent. All of you take care and drive back safely. Goodbye" she said and then turned to Sebastian, "come see me out." He said when he opened the door for her, "I know it was harder for you than it looked but thank you for that"

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, I hope you know that"

"I do and I'll see you in the evening," he smiled.

"I will and you take care of yourself. Now go and spend time with your friends, they'll leave soon, bye" she said and then drove away.

"So, sorry about the family drama. I know it was a bit too childish, even for me" Sebastian said when he walked back inside to see everyone waiting for him.

"It's fine Seb, at best we got to see headmistress Rhodes in a different avatar than what we remembered. She's much different as a mother than as a principal," Beat told him.

"I didn't ever imagine that she could be that fun," David said.

Sebastian told them, "That was nothing. She's actually very cool and fun"

"Uh… girls, why don't we go and get things packed since we all have to leave soon, huh?" Santana said seeing the looks being passed between Wes, Thad, and hunter.

"From the blatant clearing up of the room, I believe you guys have something to discuss" Sebastian observed.

Nick said, "Hunter and Santana told us about what you did for us. Sebastian we never knew about any of it and as I speak for everybody present here, we're sorry for doubting you and making you feel like an outsider even after you apologized. We all had taken part in the crime but only you did the penance while we kept on judging you."

"Yes Seb, I should've noticed how hard everyone was being on you and did something as your roommate and as your friend but I didn't. We can only thank you for everything that you did and apologize for our actions. I hope you can find in your heart to forgive us and give us another chance to prove ourselves and our friendship" Thad added.

"You're welcome and apology accepted. I didn't do anything for anybody, I did it for me" Sebastian replied in a fashion which Hunter already had tipped them off.

"Even then, we promise we won't make you regret giving us another chance," Jeff told him earnestly.

Sebastian just nodded and said, "Well if you excuse me now, I need to make an important call"

"Trent let him go. Remember what we talked about, give him space" Wes said stopping from Trent to follow Sebastian.

As he was sitting on the balcony and watching Zeus eat, Sebastian felt a shadow over him, "Something you wanna say, killer?"

"You're a good man," Blaine said sitting down in front of him.

"Thank you?" Sebastian replied with narrowed eyes.

"No I should thank you for what you did for our friends," Blaine said.

Sebastian shrugged, "Like I already said, it's fine. Let it go now."

"Did you have a good day with your mo.…stepmother?" Blaine asked catching the hint to change the subject.

Sebastian told him, "It's fine if you call her my mother, you won't disrespect my biological mother. And yes I had a great time with mom. We didn't spend a lot of time before my last show so it was cool that we could do it today, even the fans didn't disrupt us when they recognized me."

"That's good to hear. You know it's sort of surreal that you're headmistress Rhodes's stepson. When I joined Dalton, she was very sweet to me. I remember that she told me that she too had a son and he was gay. That he lived in Paris and she missed him a lot," Blaine told Sebastian.

Sebastian said looking at him, "I'm not sure why you two would talk about me?"

"When I joined Dalton after the incident at my old school, I was completely closed off and didn't talk to anyone. I used to spend my time alone and go through the motions without interacting with anybody, even the faculties, and the school counselor. So one day I was summoned to your mother's office and she sat me down and asked me what the problem was while I kept staring at my hands for more than an hour. She didn't loose her patience and kept asking how could she help, make her understand what was going on in my head and I snapped, way worse than you did earlier. I asked her how could she understand how difficult it was to be gay, how hard it was to see my parents suffer and what not."

"So she told you about me" he concluded.

"Yes. She told me that she had a gay son who was younger than me. She told me how he came out at the tender age of 12 and didn't let anybody tell him what to do even though everyone told him that it was 'just a phase'. She told me that she could understand what my parents were feeling as she herself worried every day that one day she'd get a call from the hospital to inform her that her son was beaten up or worse for being who he was. She even told me that she wished you toned down your silver tongue and let things go once in a while. I spent hours listening to your mother talk about you and your escapades and unconsciously, she got me talking about you and in extension me. I was mesmerized and even a little envious by how she described you and all I could think that what a lucky mother she was"

"She just likes to see the best in me," Sebastian told him smiling.

"Because that's the truth. Hearing how you unapologetic you were in your pursuits even at a young age made me want to better myself you know. Here I was feeling like I was the one who had done wrong, living my life in dark instead of being myself and yet you were taking everything by the horns and dealing with life as it came. It made me realize that I could either fall deeper into the abyss or work with the hand that life dealt me on my own terms. You were an inspiration to me without even knowing" Blaine told him.

"Blaine you're giving me too much credit. I wasn't bullied like you were; I wasn't a victim of a vicious hate crime. You had much greater odds to deal with," Sebastian countered.

"It may seem that way on paper but I can imagine how hard it must've been to make new friends with older children when you skip a grade and you did it twice. And I'm sure it had been harder to be an athlete because you were openly gay and used to sing and dance too."

Sebastian dismissed, "Everybody at school knew that if they crossed me, my family would wreak havoc on them so they didn't do anything to me and I had a bout of early puberty which did wonders for me."

"You have a reason for everything huh?" Blaine smiled.

"Yes I do but I get what you're trying to say. I'm happy I could help you in your tough time even though I didn't know that I did until now" Sebastian conceded.

Blaine told him, "Good and I told you about this because I always thought that you were a good person even after what happened with the new directions. You once asked me how I could forgive you for trying to ruin my relationship with Kurt and getting me injured, it was because I believed that you had a good heart."


	22. Chapter 22

"Then there were three," Sebastian said as everybody drove away to the airport.

"So what now?" Blaine asked kicking the gravel in the driveway.

Natasha told Sebastian losing no time, "You need to get ready Sebastian, we need to leave soon for the hotel. The band and crew are already there and setting up for sound check. We don't want to keep them waiting."

"Looks like the task master is back in town. Just give me a couple of minutes and then we can leave. Killer, you coming?" Sebastian asked as they walked back.

"Not like I've anything better to do" Blaine replied casually.

"Such burden" Sebastian clicked his tongue while throwing his arm around Blaine.

"My poor ears, how will they cope?" Blaine hammed it up making both of them laugh looking at each other.

"Stop giggling like schoolgirls and move it. Car's gonna be here in ten" Natasha shouted from inside the house. By the time Sebastian put on Zeus's vest, the car arrived and they left for the hotel.

"There's so much crowd," Blaine said looking out of the car around the block.

"Yep and they won't be even allowed inside since this is a closed event. Wanna see something crazy?" Sebastian said and then proceeded to slide his window down and waved at the crowd turning them into a frenzy on spotting him. "Crazy right," he smirked.

Matt asked looking pointedly at Blaine as they drove towards the back entrance, "Ok boys. We are not able to drive close to the back entrance so there's some distance you need to walk. Now Blaine, if you want to get your face on the tomorrow's local papers, you can walk in with Sebastian otherwise wait for a while and I'll come get you. Now, what's it going to be?"

"I'll wait," Blaine said after thinking.

"Good call" he agreed.

Sebastian told as he slid out of the car with Zeus, "Sorry about that killer, Matt is still working on his people's skill."

"It's fine, he's just doing his job. I'll see you inside," he smiled.

By the time Blaine reached inside, Sebastian was already puttering around while his band was doing their final sound check with him. Watching him interact with his band and crew was a unique experience for Blaine because he had never seen him working so in tune with such a large group of people. Sure he had seen him perform with warblers and even with his band at the concert earlier before but this was different. Blaine had always felt that Sebastian was made for leadership, to stand out of the group and he always did.

As he was checking every detail and tuning each and everything as needed, Blaine realized that this was exactly what Sebastian was supposed to do. He had found his calling and with his talent, there was no stopping him. Having studied music himself in college, he could see how attention to detail Sebastian was with everything and even though today's show wasn't on the same scale as the day before yesterday, he was just as diligent.

The other thing Blaine was witnessing first hand for the first time was how Zeus and Sebastian interacted with each other as a team and with other people in a public place. Clearly, everyone around Sebastian knew to give him wider berth and not distract Zeus while he was working, as he was always present a step or two around him without even being tied on a leash. Blaine was still very curious to know why Sebastian needed Zeus but hadn't had found the guts to ask despite talking to him almost every day for the more than a month. There were a lot of times when he thought about asking Santana or Brittany again but didn't because he didn't want to look like he was snooping again. He could easily go on the Internet and read everything that was reported about them but he didn't.

"Hey Blaine, wanna join?" Sebastian asked pulling him from his thoughts as he walked towards him.

"To sing?"

"No to striptease, of course, to sing. And my band wants to meet you. So what do you say?" he asked again.

"Sure."

Sebastian made introductions as they walked back to where the rest of his band was waiting for them, "I don't know if you know my band or not, so I'm gonna introduce you. This is Annika, my bassist, and keyboardist; we call her Nikki. Demetri or Tri and Odessa, my guitarists, they play piano too. And on drums here is Oliver. Guys, this is Blaine, my friend. We met at Dalton and were friends and rivals, etcetera etcetera."

"It's so nice to meet you all," Blaine said as he shook hands with everyone.

"Sebastian told us that you sing too, so why don't you come up and join us," Nikki offered.

"Don't you guys have soundcheck to do?"

"And we'll do it by singing. Come on, when did you become shy of performing? If I remember correctly, your go-to method of sorting things is by singing so show us what you got Killer" Sebastian said nudging him fondly.

"Fine, and you don't need to goad me. I just didn't want to come in your way of work," Blaine told him.

"You're not, so what are we singing today?" Odessa asked.

"We could do _Passenger's_ _Let Her Go_ ," Blaine said after giving some thought.

"Good choice, ready when you are," Oliver said while others nodded approving his choice. As the first strings of the guitar were plucked, Blaine and Sebastian took the mic and Blaine opened the song.

 _Well you only need the light when it's burning low_

 _Only miss the sun when it starts to snow_

 _Only know you love him when you let him go_

 _Only know you've been high when you're feeling low_

 _Only hate the road when you're missing home_

 _Only know you love him when you let him go_

 _And you let him go_

Sebastian was undoubtedly thrown by the change that Blaine did in lyrics but decided to go with it and sing the next portion.

 _Staring at the bottom of your glass_

 _Hoping one day you'll make a dream last_

 _But dreams come slow and they go so fast_

 _You see him when you close your eyes_

 _Maybe one day you'll understand why_

 _Everything you touch surely dies_

 _[Blaine]_

 _But you only need the light when it's burning low_

 _Only miss the sun when it starts to snow_

 _Only know you love him when you let him go_

 _Only know you've been high when you're feeling low_

 _Only hate the road when you're missing home_

 _Only know you love him when you let him go_

 _[Sebastian]_

 _Staring at the ceiling in the dark_

 _Same old empty feeling in your heart_

 _Cause love comes slow and it goes so fast_

 _Well you see him when you fall asleep_

 _But never to touch and never to keep_

 _Cause you loved him too much and you dived too deep_

 _[Blaine]_

 _Well you only need the light when it's burning low_

 _Only miss the sun when it starts to snow_

 _Only know you love him when you let him go_

 _Only know you've been high when you're feeling low_

 _Only hate the road when you're missing home_

 _Only know you love him when you let him go_

 _And you let him go_

 _Oh, oh no_

 _And you let him go_

 _Oh, oh no_

 _Well you let him go_

 _[Blaine & Sebastian]_

 _Cause you only need the light when it's burning low_

 _Only miss the sun when it starts to snow_

 _Only know you love him when you let him go_

 _Well you let him go_

 _[Blaine]_

 _Only know you've been high when you're feeling low_

 _Only hate the road when you're missing home_

 _Only know you love him when you let him go_

 _And you let him go_

"You have a beautiful voice, Blaine. I can see why Sebastian would ask you to sing, you two have great chemistry," Odessa said once they were done.

"And he plays for his team too, good score Seb," Oliver said making everyone laugh and Blaine blush slightly.

"Just cause he's gay doesn't mean we're going to do it, idiot." Sebastian said clipping Oliver playfully on the head and added turning to Blaine, "Sorry about that B, Oliver's brain to mouth filter is yet to develop completely."

"It's okay, you know our friends, they're far worse. And I can see why you all work so well together."

"Put some alcohol into them and I'm sure these four will come out on top of warblers. And yeah, they're cool enough that we work."

"Just enough huh?" his band asked in unison.

"Fine a lot, you guys know how to gang up on a man. And speaking of the gang, did you all have fun at the waterpark?" Sebastian asked.

"We did and we have a lot of footage to show you. You would've loved Oliver's antics, we literally peed our pants laughing. We need to take a trip again soon with you"

"We'll whip something up."

Natasha said as she came walking while looking at something on her phone to where they were sitting, "Guys, wrap this up, we need to leave for the meet and great. Blaine, are you coming?"

"Actually, I need to get my suit for tonight from my parents' place in Westerville. So I'll come straight to tonight's event if you don't mind" Blaine told Sebastian.

"Sure and you'd probably get bored waiting while I do interviews and meet and greet" Sebastian replied.

"Not necessarily. But I'll see you all later" and with that Blaine walked away towards the exit.

Sebastian asked when Odessa came to his car instead of traveling with the rest of the band in another car, "Don't you want to sit with your fiancé?"

"I've spent enough time with him that he'll be fine if I don't sit with him for half an hour and why are you acting weird?"

"I'm not acting weird," Sebastian said defensively.

"Fine, not weird but definitely defensive. What would you be defensive about? Blaine? But why Blaine? Is he the one that…? He's the one you wrote most of your songs about. Wow, that's messed up. Does he know?" she thought out loud.

"He doesn't know or at least I don't know if he knows. He hasn't outright asked me yet."

"If he does?"

"What can I do but tell the truth. It's not like I can make up some lies when it's quite blatant that they're about him if you dig a bit deeper" he told her.

"What are you going to do?" she finally asked after thinking about everything.

"Nothing, since there's absolutely nothing to do. We're friends now, purely platonic"

She observed, "His song choice and his body language earlier didn't seem to say so."

"It doesn't matter. We both have moved on"

"I disagree."

"Your opinion doesn't matter in this case. If he wanted something, he would've said so. Since he hasn't that means he's moved on and wants nothing from me except friendship" he told her vehemently.

"Keep fooling yourself. Neither of you wants just friendship from each other"

"Whatever" he dismissed.

While in Westerville, Blaine was ringing the bell at his parents' house when somebody unexpected opened the door, "Coop, what are you doing here?"

"Same could be asked to you little brother" Cooper replied.

"Mom and dad knew that I was coming today. I'm here to pick up my suit for an event tonight, now what about you?"

"Just wrapped up shooting for a movie and was in the are so thought why don't I come down and see our dear old parents but they seem to have gone somewhere. Did they tell you?" Cooper asked as he got them something to drink from the fridge.

"No. Last time I talked to mom, she said that they'd be at home when I come so I'm sure they'll be back soon," Blaine replied taking the beer from Cooper.

"Yeah, you're right. But why exactly are you in Ohio, didn't you have a summer internship and what event in Ohio you need your suit for?"

Blaine told him, "First, my internship is over. Second, I'm in Ohio because I was spending time with a friend, all the warblers that used to go school with me were also here, but they went back as their internships are still going on. And Dalton's headmistress is throwing a charity event tonight where my friend is performing and to attend that I need my suit. Happy now James Bond?"

"Who is this friend?" Cooper asked cutting to the chase.

"Sebastian Smythe"

"Is he the same Sebastian who is…?"

"Yes."

"Wow" was all Cooper could say. But after thinking a minute later he asked taking a sip again, "Is he also the same Sebastian who threw the slushy and Kurt used to hate."

"How many Sebastian Smythe do you think I know? Yes, he's the same," Blaine said getting annoyed.

Cooper told Blaine, "I spent a night playing pool with him. He's a cool guy. Never thought he was your Sebastian"

"He's not mine."

"But you want him to be. The shrine you have of him in your bedroom is a proof of that" Cooper teased.

"What were you doing going through my stuff and I don't have a shrine. Just some mementos of our time together" Blaine defended.

"That's quite a shoebox for just some mementos."

Blaine told him looking away, "Why do you care? And it doesn't matter anyway, we're just friends."

"You know he's single right now, you two could hook up," he suggested.

"Can we not talk about me and him? Let's see watch TV while we wait for our parents to come home" Blaine said trying to change the subject and taking the TV remote as he sat down beside Cooper.

"If you two do hook up, he'll definitely be a major upgrade from your ex-husband"

"Zip it Cooper" Blaine shushed.

"Wait wait wait! He was on the previous channel" Cooper exclaimed as Blaine was surfing TV channels and then commented when Blaine put the channel back on, "he looks good, definitely an upgrade. Better style, face, definitely more talented than that little…"

"Shh…"

" _So Sebastian, we heard that you're performing at a benefit tonight here in Columbus. Can you tell us about it?"_

" _Yes, I am. It's a charity benefit to raise money for providing surgical care to children who can't afford it in underdeveloped and developing countries. I've been closely related to this cause since high school. As my participation, half of the proceeds from my merchandising from each show that I perform go to the foundation that works with these children."_

" _That's a noble cause. Can you tell us how you got into this cause? Most high schoolers don't care much for volunteering and charity."_

" _Honestly, I didn't care either but I had to do community service as a high school requirement. I liked the cause so I decided to raise funds for it. After a while, I liked the impact I was making so I didn't stop after high school ended."_

" _That's good to hear. Speaking of high school, you went to Dalton Academy in Westerville, Ohio."_

" _Yes, I did, for half of my junior and senior year. It has some of the greatest memories of my life no doubt."_

" _Can we guess that the man you write about in your album, you met him there?"_

" _Why is everybody obsessed with him? Let the poor man live his life."_

" _Come on Sebastian, we've been dying to find out who was fool enough to let you go. I mean have you seen yourself"_

" _Yes I did, just this morning in the shower…"_

Cooper interrupted, "He's very good at deflecting."

"He's also very good at singing."

"But you aren't that good at deflecting. Are you the person she was talking about?" he asked looking at Blaine pointedly and when Blaine didn't answer, he took his silence as yes, "You are, just wow."

But before he could say anything and Blaine could refuse, they heard the lock at the main door being turned and saw their mother carrying several dry-cleaning bags, "I see that you've made yourself at home. When did you two get here?"

"This conversation isn't over," Cooper said when they got up to her their mother. "Hey, mom, and just about 15 minutes earlier. I didn't know that Blainey was coming home mom."

"And I didn't know that Cooper-pooper was going to be home," Blaine said.

Mrs. Anderson told them, "I was busy with preparations for a charity event tonight that I must've forgotten to tell you both about each other."

"By any chance that this is the same event Blaine's headmistress at Dalton is throwing where Sebastian Smythe is performing" Cooper asked.

"Yes, why?" Mrs. Anderson replied looking suspiciously at them.

Blaine answered, "Because she's Sebastian's stepmother and I'm going to the same event"

"Another layer is peeled" Cooper muttered under his breath making Blaine glare at him.

"That's great news. I'm sure I can arrange for you to meet him if you want" Mrs. Anderson suggested.

Cooper told her, "No need mom, Blainey here is actually good friends with him. Sebastian used to go to Dalton and they met there. They're such good friends that he spent the weekend with him."

"You never mentioned him before to me Blaine. And I thought you were with your warbler friends" Mrs. Anderson said.

"What is this? Interrogation? And for your information, he joined Dalton after I left and went to McKinley. I was with my warbler friends since He was a warbler too. Now if you excuse me, I need to find a suitable tie with my tux" Blaine said and went upstairs before anyone could say anything anymore.

"What's with him? Did you say something to him, Cooper?" Mrs. Anderson asked.

"Just truth" Cooper commented and then followed him upstairs. Seeing that Blaine had locked his bedroom door, he knocked, and got the reply he expected, "Leave me alone Cooper."

"Open the door Blaine, we need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk" Blaine shouted from the door.

"Yes there is and you know it"

"What do you want?" he asked opening the door to let Cooper inside the room.

"You need to get your story straight and learn how to not spaz out every time somebody asks you about Sebastian. Otherwise, tonight's party is a recipe for disaster," Cooper said before turning to close the door again.

"What do I do? You don't know how hard it is for me to not blurt everything that I feel for Sebastian in front of everybody. I sang a song for him today, changed the pronoun to 'him'," Blaine told him looking dejectedly as he came to sit beside him on his bed.

"What was the song?"

" _Let Her Go_ by _Passenger_ " Blaine answered looking at his feet.

"You're an idiot if you think your secret is safe after that" Cooper told him after thinking about the song.

"It just happened Coop, I didn't mean it to happen. And when Sebastian's turn came, he just went with it. I was so scared that he'd confront me as soon as the song would get over but gratefully he didn't. I can only imagine what he must be thinking"

Cooper told him softly, "You need to tell him how you feel."

"It's too soon and you don't know what all happened between us. Once you hear everything, you might want to punch me for my stupidity"

"I'm sure it won't be that bad"

"It is."

"Fine, give me the cliff notes version," Cooper told him. Once Blaine was done telling him everything, all he could say was, "you're right. I do want to punch you for choosing that two faced cheating hypocritical bastard over a guy who clearly loved you."

"Get behind me in the line"

"That aside, I still think you should tell him. He deserves to know that his love is not unrequited now. Clearly, you feel guilty for what you did and are sorry for it, I'm sure he'll understand and give you a second chance," he suggested.

"And if he doesn't, then what? I'll loose our friendship all over again"

"You can't keep living your life in the fear of losing something, what if you get much more once you take the risk. Have you thought about that? I don't think I raised you to be such a coward," Cooper said nudging Blaine fondly.

"You didn't raise me, Coop," Blaine snorted.

"Whatever brat, you need to take the plunge. Haven't you heard that it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?" he said making Blaine giggle.

"Do you even know who you are quoting?"

"I might not Mr. Ivy-league-scholar but I do know love. You need to tell him," he repeated.

"Our situation isn't that simple Cooper. I basically dismissed his feelings to his face and in a way cheated on him. On top of that, I asked him to reassure me that everything will be okay and then asked him to help me propose Kurt. Just a sorry and admission of love won't make things right," Blaine told him.

"He nearly blinded you" Cooper pointed out.

"And he served his punishment, what more one can ask of him? For me, I was in pain for a small duration and once things were back to fine, everything went back to normal. But for him, his rest of high school experience was ruined in a way. People forget that in an accident only the victim is not in pain, the one who's shouldering the blame is in pain too. Just because of a mistake, he lost all his credibility and a lot more. You know he still feels guilty for it, he still flinches when it is brought up," Blaine told him.

Cooper commented, "It's a messed up situation, plain and simple"

"Yes it is"

"Well, I can help you tonight to field our parents if you want since mom asked me to come to the event. But after that, you need to sort out your feelings and decide how you're going to proceed. You can't keep on hiding," he suggested.

"I know and thanks a lot, Coop," Blaine said hugging him.

"Anything for you Blainey"

"Stop calling me that"

"Anything except that" Cooper replied messing Blaine's hair.

When the Andersons reached the benefit, the venue seemed to be buzzing with activity. It looked like a great turnout. It seemed that everyone who was a name in town was present there.

Cooper commented looking at the items for auction, "His keyboard which he used to play at Dalton is for auction. Do you want me to bid on that so that you can add it to your shrine?"

"For the last time Coop, it is not a shrine," Blaine said firmly.

Cooper didn't relent, "What about the bid? Do you want me to place one for you?"

"What are you two gossiping about?" Mr. Anderson asked as he came from behind. "They've been like this since I came home. I've never seen them so civilized with each other for so long, it's irking me a bit," Mrs. Anderson told him.

"It's nothing mom, Blaine here has been thinking of spending rest of vacation with me so we were just talking about that. Haven't we Blainey?" Cooper said nudging Blaine playfully.

Blaine agreed elbowing Cooper in the stomach, "Yeah mom, and stop calling me that, at least in public."

"I'm trying to save your ass, stop assaulting me," Cooper said rubbing his mock injury.

"By embarrassing me?" he challenged.

But instead of replying to that Cooper said looking around as they entered the large tent, "He's not here yet? I can see his stepmother with mom but he's not around."

"Maybe he'll come out after his performance. His band is not here either. Speaking of him, how did you meet him?" Blaine asked as they stopped in the corner while sipping champagne.

Cooper told him, "I think it was an after party or something. Somebody introduced me to him and we started talking. He was talking to some designer about vineyards so I asked why he wasn't drinking if he knew about and liked wine so much. He replied doctor's orders pointing at his dog and then somehow we ended up playing pool till late morning. I even talked about you I think, I don't remember because I was drinking his share too"

"I think he has stopped drinking because I haven't seen him drink any alcohol in the past two days."

"Maybe something to do with why he needs the dog, do you know anything about that?" he asked.

"I haven't had the courage to ask him. And technically it's none of my business why he needs a service dog" Blaine said.

"Didn't you feel curious to find out? Maybe on the internet or something" Cooper suggested.

"I don't want to violate his privacy and make assumptions with what is given on the web"

"Didn't stop you from tracking him down to his new home" he snorted.

"And I learned my lesson. When he's ready, I'm sure we'll talk about it."

"Do you think it's something serious?" Cooper asked after thinking for a while.

"From the time I've spent with him, honestly I can't say. Maybe he's just a psychiatric assistance service dog, those are also out there you know" Blaine noted.

Cooper asked after pondering about it, "As a student of psychology, what do you think are the chances that what you say are true?"

"I don't know and Cooper, it's not out business."

"Yeah, but I'm hella curious and don't tell me that you aren't," he said looking at Blaine.

"I am but I'm not obsessing over it. He looks healthy enough to me so I haven't asked yet. Now can we talk about something else?"

"Like what?"

"Like how you've been able to roam around without getting recognized till now," Blaine said the first thing that came to his mind.

"That's because nobody is here for me and right now Sebastian's celebrity is much larger than mine. I'm sure sooner than later somebody will pop up and looks like your wish has been granted" Cooper said spotting a couple of teenage girls that were walking towards them.

"Where is he?" Blaine asked looking all around. Cooper told him, "Not Sebastian you dork, somebody spotted me."

He looked disappointed, "Oh."

A girl asked Blaine as they posed with Cooper, "Can you click our picture please?" After a while, he saw his father coming towards him. "Cooper, Blaine, your mother is asking for you. The show is about to start and she wants you two to be in your seats."

Cooper said with a smile, "Okay dad. Girls, you need to excuse us now, as you heard the show's about to start." When they were alone and walking towards their table he told Blaine, "sorry about that, I know you hate it when people…"

"It's okay Coop and I don't hate it, I just don't like when people take away your attention from me when you're with me," Blaine told him.

"You need to work on that if you're ever going to date Sebastian. I'm sure people love to disturb him when he's in public" Cooper couldn't help but tease.

"Have you seen his bodyguards, I look like a dwarf in front of them. I'm sure people think twice before approaching him when he's with them" Blaine said.

"So you do want to date him" Cooper smirked.

"That is the only thing you took from all that I said. You know what, we're going to stop talking about him now because I don't want our parents getting suspicious of me and start asking embarrassing questions."

Cooper said noting their seating arrangements, "I don't think your plan is going to work since it seems we're sitting with his stepmother, chances are that he'll sit at the same table too"

Blaine said under his breath, "Just my luck."

"Blaine, fancy seeing you here. I thought you were going back to New York with your friends" Annalise said seeing Blaine as all of them took their seats after greeting each other.

"You too Mrs. Smythe, and I'm spending some time in Ohio before my college starts again," he told her.

"Is Mr. Smythe joining you, Mr. Smythe?" Mr. Anderson asked taking note of the obvious absence at the table.

"Unfortunately no Mr. Anderson, Stephen's flight from D.C. seems to be running late so it'll be only me and Sebastian tonight. Speaking of tonight, how do you like the arrangements? Your wife and I've worked very hard for this."

Blaine knew that Mrs. Smythe was lying since Sebastian already told him that his father wasn't going to attend but he didn't comment.

"And it shows. Not only it's a great turnout, everything looks perfect. I'm sure we'll raise a lot of money tonight."

"Here's to hoping," she said tipping her glass.

"I didn't know that Sebastian was so closely related to such a noble cause even back in high school," Blaine told Annalise as she came back after her introductory speech.

"There's a lot you don't know about my son Blaine. He's a remarkable man who doesn't show his softer side a lot."

"You're right" Blaine agreed taking a sip of water.

Annalise told him, "I know that what happened in high school was horrible and Sebastian has felt nothing but terrible about it since that day. He didn't mean to hurt anybody least of all you but you did get hurt. And I know that I shouldn't have hidden his mistakes when I found out about them but I didn't want to ruin his future over something that turned out all right in the end. I know he'd have taken any punishment for what he did but I couldn't do that to my child. I can't see him getting hurt by anything so you understand why I was a bit testy with you earlier."

"I do."

She continued with a comforting smile, "So you'll understand why I think you two should keep a distance that is respectable of your friendship. I can't make decisions for Sebastian but I can protect him from getting hurt again. So can I trust you to see my point and proceed accordingly?"

And Blaine could only nod as Sebastian's performance was being announced.


	23. Chapter 23

"Breath, Blaine" Cooper whispered in Blaine's ear when he gasped slightly as the lights were shut and Sebastian's voice sliced across the tent. When the spotlight was focused on him, he shone out in a well-tailored burgundy tux as he sung the opening number, bringing everybody's eyes on him.

"Your son is gifted Mrs. Smythe. You must be very proud," Mr. Anderson congratulated Sebastian's mother when he was taking his time to transition into his summer hit, _Latch_.

"I am."

Sebastian said taking a sip from the bottle, "So charitable folks of Columbus, how are we feeling tonight?" and after that, it was like Sebastian was seducing everyone into opening their checkbooks and giving donations. In between his songs, he'd bring up Dalton and other teenagers who were present with their parents. And talked about Ohio, Westerville, and Columbus, making quips about everything he liked and didn't.

"So as it has been reported by all the local media, it's been years since I came back to Ohio and it's true. The last few days have brought up a lot of memories, I saw people who I hadn't seen in years and it's making me feel…ambivalent, if that's the word for it. Maybe it's better to get to my next song since it sums up very well what's going on in my mind so here it is."

 _I only wanted to have fun_

 _Learning to fly learning to run_

 _I let my heart decide the way_

 _When I was young_

 _Deep down I must have always known_

 _That this would be inevitable_

 _To earn my stripes I'd have to pay_

 _And bare my soul_

 _I know I'm not the only one_

 _Who regrets the things they've done_

 _Sometimes I just feel it's only me_

 _Who can't stand the reflection that they see_

 _I wish I could live a little more_

 _Look up to the sky not just the floor_

 _I feel like my life is flashing by_

 _And all I can do is watch and cry_

 _I miss the air; I miss my friends_

 _I miss my mother, I miss it when_

 _Life was a party to be thrown_

 _But that was a million years ago_

 _When I walk around all of the streets_

 _Where I grew up and found my feet_

 _They can't look me in the eye_

 _It's like they're scared of me_

 _I try to think of things to say_

 _Like a joke or a memory_

 _But they don't recognize me now_

 _In the light of day_

 _I know I'm not the only one_

 _Who regrets the things they've done_

 _Sometimes I just feel it's only me_

 _Who never became who they thought they'd be_

 _I wish I could live a little more_

 _Look up to the sky not just the floor_

 _I feel like my life is flashing by_

 _And all I can do is watch and cry_

 _I miss the air I miss my friends_

 _I miss my mother I miss it when_

 _Life was a party to be thrown_

 _But that was a million years ago_

 _A million years ago_

The song did clear a lot about what was going on in Sebastian's mind for Blaine and he did notice how Sebastian only mentioned his mother and not his father. A couple of songs later he was done when he walked to where they were sitting as the charity auction was getting started.

Mrs. Smythe praised as she hugged him, "You were extraordinary Sebastian." He said something in her ear making her laugh. "Now, come on. I want to introduce you to everyone; Blaine's parents are with his elder brother, Cooper. He told me that you two have already met."

"Yes, we have. Hey, Cooper, you were the last person I was expecting to see here. And you never told me that your little brother was Blaine."

"Must've not told you his name. By the way, you were fantastic up there, man."

"Thanks, mate. And you clean up good killer" Sebastian appraised Blaine with a smile showing his approval.

"Thank you and you too. You were incredible as always. Sebastian, I want you to meet my parents, Patricia and Alex Anderson. And you don't need introduction now, do you?"

Sebastian chuckled, as he shook hands with Blaine's parents, "Certainly not. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, I've heard nothing but good things about you from my mother and Blaine. It's nice to finally put a face to your names."

"Yes it is and we've also heard the best about you from your mother Sebastian. Though Blaine never told us that you two were friends," Mrs. Anderson said.

Mr. Anderson told him, "never mind, you're very talented."

Cooper noted as he nudged Blaine's shoulder, "It took him only minutes to do what that little shit couldn't in years. He has both of our parents wrapped around his fingers. Dad looks just about ready to join doctors without borders and don't even start me on mom."

"I thought you were here to help me and let me tell you this is not helping anybody," Blaine grumbled.

"You're just jealous that mom gets to dance with him and you don't" Cooper snickered.

"Shut up, I'm going to the restroom if you excuse me."

"Get it together Anderson," Blaine said looking at his reflection after splashing himself with some water before going back to his table. "Oh great" was all he could mutter under his breath when he saw Sebastian and his parents deep into conversation and having the time of their lives listening to his stories.

"Blaine, Sebastian here was telling me about a fan in Australia. He changed information to show that he was Sebastian's stepbrother on his Wikipedia page to meet him backstage. How crazy is that?" Mrs. Anderson said once she spotted him near their table.

"Yes totally" Blaine smiled with pulling up his enthusiastic smile though he already knew the story.

Sebastian continued, "That's not all. One time…"

By the time he was on his third story, a man came up to their table, "Hello Sebastian, Annalise. You've put together a beautiful event tonight and Seb, great as always." By their interaction, it looked like that he was Paul Karofsky, Dave's father and he was clearly another person who was close to Sebastian and her mother.

"I hear congratulations are in order. Seb told me that David and Andrew are engaged to be married, you must be so happy" Mrs. Smythe congratulated him.

"Yes I am and keep an eye on the mail, invitations will be sent soon."

"I will."

Sebastian whispered to Blaine when Paul asked Annalise for a dance, "It's okay Blaine, not a big deal." Clearly, his thoughts were showing on his face and Sebastian noticed them. He asked trying to change the subject, "So did you do your part tonight and donate? I put quite a performance to get the donations."

"Yes, you did. And for donations, I and everyone who couldn't be here tonight put some money together in a check and I already gave it to your mom," Blaine told him.

"Good job."

"Blaine didn't think I'd see you here, you too Cooper. Alex, Patricia." he had been so wrapped up in talking with Sebastian that he hadn't noticed his ex-in-laws walk up to their table.

Blaine's parents greeted them, "Burt, Carole."

"Hello Burt, and I'm just spending my summer vacation with my parents," Blaine told him.

"You're done with college then?" Burt asked.

"No, a year more."

"You didn't take classes this summer?"

"No, I didn't. I needed a break from everything that happened last year and spend time with friends and family" he told him in a tone despite knowing that it will set Burt off since his perception of him had changed after he filed for divorce. Though Blaine was not the only one with a bit of an attitude from Burt's tone.

Sebastian tried to create a diversion when he sensed that Blaine was getting agitated, "Excuse me. Blaine, I was thinking I should…"

"And you're friends with him?" Burt asked with acidity coloring his voice despite not knowing Sebastian and the actual state of the relationship between him and Blaine.

"Sebastian Smythe sir and ma'am, a pleasure to meet you. And excuse me for interrupting" Sebastian charmed up.

Carole told as they shook hands, "It's okay Sebastian. That was some performance you put there, you're quite a talented young man."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Cooper tried to douse out the climbing tension between Burt and his family, "Why don't I make some introductions here? This is Burt and Carole Hummel. They've been active members to save the art and culture scene here in Ohio."

"And we're parents of Blaine's ex-husband, Kurt" Burt interrupted.

Sebastian said with a barely concealed smile that showed exactly what was going on in his mind, "I know. Now if you excuse me, I see my mother's calling me but it was nice to meet you two." He knew that his presence, participation, and knowledge about the situation would ring some alarms in Burt's mind so he excused himself and left but not before giving Blaine an encouraging smile. Though Blaine hadn't talked a lot about his marriage and divorce yet he knew the general situation between the two families. And he could easily imagine Burt using his presence to aggravate Blaine and his family so he left.

Burt started as soon as he saw Sebastian out of the hearing range, "Blaine, Kurt's been trying to contact you for so long. It's not fair that…"

Blaine interrupted, "I don't want to talk to him after everything he's done Burt. There's nothing he has to say that I haven't heard before and I don't wish to hear him again."

"Blaine after everything, you should at least…" Carole tried to reason.

"Blaine did nothing but leave your son when he found out that Kurt was cheating on him. Whatever they needed to talk about, they did it in court-mandated therapy and since they're separated now. It means nothing came out of it and there's nothing left to talk Burt" Mr. Anderson finally has enough.

But Burt wasn't ready to let go, "Your family never supported them Alex and somewhere it took its toll on…"

Blaine's mother interrupted him before anybody else could say anything as she came to her husband and family's defense, "My husband has had his moments where he doubted if Kurt was the one for Blaine or not but our family has always supported Blaine and his marriage."

"Burt, this is not the place or time to do this. Let's leave them and go back to our table. Sorry about this" Carole apologized while trying to tug Burt back to their table.

"It's fine Carole," Patricia said though she wasn't feeling like that. But Blaine couldn't help himself anymore and spat out, "Why can't he just leave me alone? First Kurt and now his father, when will I catch a break?"

Patricia tried to comfort her son, "It's okay Blaine, someday, or the other, he'll get tired of…"

"When will it come?"

She suggested trying to cheer him up again, "Don't ruin your night thinking about him and his actions. Come on, come dance with me."

Mr. Anderson asked Cooper once he saw his wife and younger son on the dance floor,

"Why did Sebastian say he knew who Burt and Carole were when you made introductions?"

"I think you should ask Blaine about it, dad. He can give you a better answer" Cooper replied after taking a sip of his drink and thinking.

"Did something happen between Sebastian and Kurt?"

Cooper had to commend his father for not tiptoeing around. If only Blaine's instincts were like his father's, they would've been having an entirely different conversation. "I know I shouldn't tell you this but I don't know if Blaine will ever give you a straight answer or not if you ask him. When Sebastian joined Dalton, he developed a crush on Blaine when they met. But at that time Blaine was at McKinley with Kurt. Sebastian didn't really care about that and he flirted with Blaine. So Kurt started hating Sebastian."

"Is he the one who Kurt used to call Meerkat?" ales asked after thinking for a while.

"Yes," Cooper replied making both of them chuckle.

Alex asked as he saw Blaine and Sebastian dancing with each other's mother, "Did Blaine ever have feelings for Sebastian back then? I know I should talk to Blaine but he doesn't really talk to me about all this Cooper."

"Yes he did and dad, it's not because he doesn't want to. He just feels embarrassed and thinks that you'd feel uncomfortable about talking boys with him you know" Cooper told him squeezing his arm in support.

"I'm sorry if I gave him that idea because of what happened with Kurt. All I want is I and Blaine to have the same connection that I have with you."

"I'm sure if you tell him that, he'll come to you too."

Alex said as he observed his wife twirling around with Sebastian while Blaine looked fondly at them across the dance floor, "Sebastian is a good boy, a little rough around the edges but a good person. He and Blaine would've made a great couple. Blaine needs someone like Sebastian in his life; someone who grounds him yet challenges him at the same time. Someone who'd support and better him, who'd love him unconditionally."

"And Kurt did none of those things" Cooper concluded.

"He may have at one time but later on, their marriage just looked like 'Kurt and company show'. That's not a marriage and on the top of it, he cheated while accusing Blaine to do the same thing," Alex said downing his drink.

"You're preaching it to the choir dad. I always thought Kurt wanted a trophy husband. If you hadn't made them sign a postnup, he would've never left Blaine so easily."

"It wasn't easy enough," he grumbled.

Sebastian asked Blaine as the party was winding down and people were starting to leave, "Excuse me, sorry but have you seen my mother Blaine?"

"Yeah, she just went to take a call. I think she went to that balcony," he pointed in the direction.

"Thanks, man."

Sebastian heard his mother's voice before he saw her alone out on the balcony looking over the railing while talking to his father on the call, "Stephen you're not doing favors for yourself by behaving like this. Sebastian isn't a teenager now and if you don't want the world to know what he really thinks about you, you need to change starting now. He's behaving more mature than you and he's the one who has been wronged in this situation, not you."

Clearly, he could only listen to her side of the conversation but he knew his father enough to know what his response must be. "Well, you can start somewhere at least."

"You know better than to make assumptions Stephen."

"Whatever. This conversation isn't over and we'll talk when I get home. Right now I've to get back to the party that I've thrown and you didn't bother to show up. Goodbye." Annalise said as she turned around and spotted Sebastian in the doorway, "Sebastian, I was just…"

He interrupted her, "Don't mom, I can guess who was it and I don't want to talk about him. I just came to inform you that I'm taking off. I have to leave early tomorrow so I need to get at least some sleep."

Since Blaine had driven his car instead of coming with his parents and Cooper, he directly went to the rental home. By the time he reached there, the lights in Sebastian's room were off and it looked like he already turned in so he didn't disturb him.

When the next time Blaine's eyes opened, it was well past midnight and he went downstairs to get some water. But when he was going back, he saw the lights near the pool were on so he went to check and found none other than Sebastian sitting near the pool with his dog. His first instinct was to go check on him but he didn't know if he was welcomed at that time.

But fortunately for him, Sebastian had already heard him and called him out, "It's fine Blaine, I'm not going to bite."

"What are you doing here at this time?"

"Can't sleep, you?" he replied as Blaine sat across him on the other chaise.

"Just got up to get some water, saw you sitting here so came outside." Sebastian nodded acknowledging but didn't say much. But by his looks, Blaine could easily pick up that he was thinking about something, which wasn't letting him sleep. "Are you thinking about your father?"

For quite some time, Sebastian didn't say anything though he heard Blaine's question, "I hate it when my mom has to lie for him. Every time mom had to make an excuse for him tonight, I felt like going to his house and confronting him. Ask why does he do this to her. She has been nothing but an angel to us, to me and he treats her like this."

"Do you know what his problem is?"

"That's the thing, Blaine, I don't. Sure, I was not the easiest child but I never did anything to let him down until very later. Even after that I did what he wanted me to do, went to law school to the same university he went and did everything to make him proud but he just doesn't seem to care."

Even though Blaine didn't understand the equation between Sebastian and his father, he could only guess the obvious reason, "Maybe he doesn't accept that you're…"

Sebastian interrupted, "You know I used to think that too but that isn't the case since he's an advocate of equal human rights for all and supports homosexuality. He just doesn't accept me. You know I used to be so jealous of you, Dave, Hunter, and even Kurt in high school for having the relationship that you had with your fathers even if it was sometimes strained. When I was in Paris, everybody in my school was wealthy and everyone's parents were similar. They thought giving money was a perfect substitute for being absent and it was fine since it was same for almost everyone. But when I came here, I saw that even though most parents at Dalton were rich, they were still present for their children. And then when I heard about you all, I felt so envious."

"I didn't know that you felt like that" Blaine looked at his hands.

Sebastian scoffed, "Why do you think I was able to understand your situation with your dad so easily? I was talking from experience. Same with Dave and Hunter, all your dads wanted the best for you and were just not able to communicate that with you."

"I'm so sorry about everything, you don't deserve any of this" Blaine squeezed his hand to show his support.

"It's fine if he treats me like I'm nothing to him but it's absolutely wrong if he does this to my mom. She doesn't deserve any of this. From the day one she came into our lives, she's been trying to make things right between us but he doesn't give her much to work with. It's a miracle she hasn't given up on us and left."

"I think your mother loves you enough too much to leave."

"Well then she doesn't need to stay with him for me, I'll be fine if she chooses to leave him. I don't even know what she sees in him anymore, he just disappoints her" Sebastian spat out.

"You don't know that. Just because he's not the best father doesn't mean he isn't a good husband" he reasoned.

"He isn't the best anything. You know he's thinking of joining politics, I don't know his exact plans for that but he wants me to support him. Literally, what the fuck? He can't seem to face me in a party and he wants my support. I don't even know what shit is he high on."

Blaine pointed out, "The people are going to notice if you don't support him and his political ambitions are going to come to a halt if his image isn't portrayed in a positive light."

"And I don't care. He doesn't seem to care about me so I'm just returning the favor. Sure mom will be disappointed for a while but she'll be fine since she expecting this and that's all I care about."

Blaine smiled, "Whatever you decide. Now, are you going to be okay? You need to sleep since you'll be leaving early tom…today."

"I don't feel like sleeping yet."

"What do you feel like doing then?"

"Let's talk. In last few days, with everyone being here, we didn't talk much."

Blaine replied getting comfortable, "Sure."

"So what happened with Hummel's parents after I left? His father looked a bit miffed" Sebastian asked softly.

"Nothing new, he still thinks that his son didn't do anything that would lead me to leave him. He cheated, what more do you want? So he asked or rather demanded that I talk to Kurt since he's been trying a lot to contact me."

"Does he know about the cheating?"

"I think he knows but not to the whole thing. Kurt has the tendency to downsize his wrongs and exaggerate everyone else's."

"Didn't he come to any divorce proceedings to support Kurt? He would've found out then."

"No, Kurt didn't really tell him about anything in fear that he'll see his true colors. He only informed Burt when I didn't go for Hummel Thanksgiving last year. That's when Burt and Carole found out about everything that was going on, at least Kurt's version."

He couldn't help himself but ask, "When exactly did you file for divorce?"

"Early may."

"Wow, how did he explain your absence till then? On phone calls and stuff" Sebastian pointed out.

"Apparently I was too busy or out always with my friends when Kurt was busy trying to make ends meet."

"That's messed up" he concluded.

Blaine explained, "Kurt thought that he'd be able to reconcile with me and his parents won't find out what happened but it didn't turn out that way. When Burt found out at Thanksgiving, he immediately came to our house but unfortunately for him, our family had taken a ski trip so he didn't catch us. But he was there at court next time"

"No one can say Burt doesn't support his son."

"I understand support, but his blind faith sometimes boils my blood. My father supports me but he's the first one to point out when I'm making mistakes whether I listen to him or not. If only I had listened to him when he said that Kurt wasn't right for me."

"I think I like your father a lot more now" Sebastian smirked.

"You like anybody who doesn't like Kurt. And my father likes you a lot too. When he found out about how you were raising money for those poor kids to get operation, you won him over as it has always been one thing that my dad cares a lot since he's a doctor himself."

Sebastian questioned, "Is he one of the reasons why you chose to become a psychologist?"

"Not the main one but yes that was in the back of my mind. He always wanted that Cooper to follow his footsteps but he didn't. He never asked me of that after Cooper but I like that I could fulfill his dream in a way" Blaine told him.

"He's very proud of you, I can tell. Your whole family is especially your mother. She kept on talking about you while we were dancing."

Blaine said with an eyebrow arched in intrigue, "Speaking of dancing, I didn't know that Odessa was your cousin."

"She is my stepmother's niece. Since we don't look similar, not many people catch it if they don't know it already. But you should've caught it from our weird names, my whole family is notorious for naming weird names."

"Then your whole band could be related. I mean all your names are not common." Blaine snickered.

Sebastian laughed, "I agree."

For a while, they kept on talking about something or the other but after a stretch of comfortable silence Sebastian asked out of the blue, "Do you have your car with you?"

"Yes but why?"

He told him, "Let's go for a drive."

"Don't you want to sleep? And what about your bodyguards and Natasha? And…"

Sebastian told him before Blaine could give a million other reasons, "Slow down Killer. We'll be back in an hour or two and then I'll sleep. Right now I'm too wired to sleep. And as for Natasha and my bodyguards, they're not my keepers. I don't take Henry and Matt with me everywhere. We're just going for a drive and not to paint the town red. Nobody will even know that we're not here before we come back. Now can we leave?"

"At least tell Natasha, she'll worry if she gets up and we're not here," he reasoned.

"Fine, I'll leave her a note. Now go get your keys, change if you want and meet me in the driveway in ten. Okay?"

"Okay."

 _Song: __Million Years Ago – Adele_


	24. Chapter 24

"Why do I feel like I'm sneaking from my parents' house? This feels so juvenile."

"Because you've always been a goody two shoes. Where's your sense of adventure, B? Now give me the keys," Sebastian said as he let Zeus in the back seat.

Blaine asked dumbly, "You're driving?"

"Yes, I am. It's been long since I've driven a car and that's really a shame."

"Do you even have your license with you if we get pulled up?" he asked still standing instead of getting in the car.

"No, but we're not getting pulled up. Now be a doll and stop fretting and get in your seat. Even children don't whine this much."

Blaine protested, "I'm not whining."

"Admit it B, you've been a bit too trigger shy for my taste. What happened to the Blaine who drank his ass off and decided to walk back to his house in the middle of the night when I refused to take a lap dance from you."

He blushed remembering about his drunken debauchery, "Don't make me remember that. It took too much effort to forget my stupidity."

"It was quite hilarious I've to admit," Sebastian said still laughing.

"Of course it was hilarious to you. I was making a fool of myself and you were lapping that up."

"Well someone had to or you would've had gone with a man of your father's age." They drove around for a while but Sebastian noticed that Blaine wanted to ask him something but wasn't sure so he prompted him, "Go ahead ask me, I know you want to."

"How did you become such good friends with Dave and his father?"

"I went to visit him in the hospital to apologize. We started talking when he didn't throw me out and got me banned on sight. And we just went from there. He needed a friend and I needed forgiveness so we helped each other. His father was worried that he'd try again if he were left to his own thoughts for long so I decided to help him out and teach him that being gay wasn't a death sentence. That being gay is as awesome and cool as being anything else."

"And how did you do that? Take him to gay bars and show him the ropes?" Blaine spat out in a tone before his brain could kick in after Sebastian's revelation.

Sebastian arched his eyebrow, "You really don't think highly of me, do you?"

"I'm extremely sorry, I don't know what came over me and I spat that out without thinking. And I do think very highly of you" Blaine tried when his brain came back online.

"You're not wrong, I did take him to gay bars but just to cheer him up. Not to pimp him out and get him some."

"So what did you do then?"

"That's for me to know and you to never find out."

Blaine couldn't help himself, "Did you two sleep with each other? You know when…"

Sebastian chimed in smirking, "Are you feeling jealous of Dave? That I…"

"No, NO. I was just curious but you don't need to answer. It's none of my business." Despite Blaine's vehement interruption, he felt a change of topic was necessary, "so where are we going? Or are we just driving around?"

"For now, you're going to go in that diner and get me a burger and large fries, extra-salty. And some milkshake. Here take some money," Sebastian answered as he pulled near a 24-hour diner.

"I thought we were taking a long drive."

"Well I'm hungry now and I don't think you'd want me to go inside to get food if you want nobody to know that we sneaked out," Sebastian told him and then shouted as Blaine was walking away, "Get something for you too."

"Here; the man was looking at me like I was going to rob him or something, " Blaine said getting in the car.

"That's because of your hair" Sebastian chuckled.

"Brat"

"It's true. He must've thought you were a crack head."

"Well not everybody can look fabulous as you in the middle of the night."

"I know."

"So where are we going?" when Sebastian didn't answer Blaine looked around to guess where they were going, "are we going where I think we're going? Cause that's one really dumb idea, Sebastian. I don't know about you but I don't want to jump in the water tonight and get caught."

"We're not jumping in the water Blaine, sheesh" Sebastian replied as he turned off the car and got out.

"You could've told me this earlier" Blaine grumbled.

He snorted, "And not have the opportunity to witness you freak-out?"

"Jerk"

"Come on, let's eat in peace, and then go back. I'll even let you drive back. You've become too… I don't know… domesticated? Live a little; remember how we used to spend nights out. Just imagine that we're doing it again," Sebastian said as they sat on the ledge.

Blaine miffed, "I'm not domesticated."

"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings B, it's just that I'm feeling a little too micromanaged you know. I'm not that kind of a person and it's taking a toll now. You don't know how long it's been since I went out and had a nice meal without getting interrupted or took a vacation without having my pictures plastered in tabloids even before I got back. I'm not complaining about anything, it's just that I want to catch a break before I loose my mind."

"I get it"

"And you don't know how much I appreciate that you got everyone together, I needed it more than you can imagine. I needed a weekend to feel like a normal person rather than a show pony."

"I'm sorry again for violating your privacy and coming to your home uninvited," Blaine said remembering that he himself had violated Sebastian's privacy couple of months earlier.

"Let bygones be just that. And maybe when I get back home, you could come and visit me but with an invitation this time" Sebastian suggested popping a fry into his mouth.

"Sounds like a great idea."

"And I don't think you're domesticated, that was a wrong thing to say. It's just that you used to be such an instigator earlier and…"

Blaine defended himself, "I've grown up."

"It doesn't mean you can't go back to what you liked when you were younger. Even though I shouldn't I still spike my coffee with Courvoisier once in a while. I do it because it's something that I always liked and it gives me happiness just like this junk food."

"So you've stopped drinking?" Blaine asked.

"No, I do drink once in a blue moon. I did a toast tonight," Sebastian reminded him.

"Is your condition serious, whatever it is that's wrong with you?" Blaine was waiting for this opening for quite a while now and maybe now he could get some answers straight from the source.

"Not necessarily if it doesn't degenerate anymore. It's just a nuisance now."

"If you don't mind me asking, what's wrong with you?" Blaine asked straight instead of going around.

Sebastian couldn't himself but comment, "I'm surprised you didn't find it in your research on me."

"I…um"

This time Sebastian decided to take pity on the poor man, "It's okay killer, bygones. I've inherited a faulty heart among other things. So I black out and stuff."

"Can't you get treatment or something for it?" Blaine was worried now. Of all the things he imagined, this wasn't on his radar even though Sebastian hadn't exactly revealed his particular disorder.

"I did but it keeps coming back as I'm one of the unlucky 'rare' ones," Sebastian snorted.

Blaine pointed out, "But you did not have this earlier, I think I would've noticed it if you had it."

"I think I always did but I always thought that it was me overworking myself and my allergies acting up but it kind of became a bitch in the last year of my college."

"And how does Zeus fit into all this, you've had him for how long?" Blaine asked looking at the dog sitting beside Sebastian.

"Three years next March. He's brilliant, warns me several minutes before I'm about to have an incident so that I can take a break and get back to normal. Though he can do a lot of other tasks too" he replied all proud and sporting a smile that was only reserved for his dog.

"But he's not with you when you're performing…"

Sebastian told him, "He's always nearby, and he does come out more than you think. I didn't even want to tour because I was worried that I'll just embarrass myself in front of everybody. But after a lot of planning, we've found what works for us. And fortunately, over the years it has gotten a bit better. But when I feel like it's getting too much even a bit, I take a break and my band takes control. They do proposals and happy birthdays; you don't know how many times we've used the kiss cam so that I can take a break."

"And how did you find about this?"

"After a nasty lacrosse match. Broke my ankle and dislocated a shoulder. Now can we talk about something else?"

"What? Why?"

"Because you look like you pity me. I'm not dying Blaine, stop looking like someone killed your puppy or something."

"I don't pity you, I just feel bad for you because I care about you, you're my friend." _And I love you,_ Blaine thought but didn't admit out loud. "You're so young and have a whole life ahead of you, it's just sad that… but as you pointed out, you're not dying. So it's okay, it is what it is. If you want I won't bring this up again but remember that I don't pity you, I just worry for you. Now let's talk about something else if you want, like what should I do now that I'm free till my college resumes."

Sebastian decided to follow Blaine's lead, "haven't you made any plans yet?"

"Honestly I haven't. This is the first summer that I'm not taking classes so I didn't know what plans to make. I'm just winging it" he shrugged.

"But what do you want to do?"

"Well my parents would love it if I spent some time here and Cooper was asking if I wanted to go to LA with him but I don't know…"

"I'm not asking what others want, I'm asking what you want Blaine? There must be something that you want or otherwise, you would've already made plans with your family."

"I want to travel, take a long road trip or something" Blaine replied after thinking for a while.

Before Blaine could say anything else, Sebastian suggested, "Then why don't you come with me on tour?"

"What?" clearly Blaine didn't see that coming.

"Yeah, come with me, it's basically a glorified road trip. You can explore the cities while I do whatever I'm supposed to do and this way you could have a bed and not need to drive. I'm sure you must've brought enough clothes if you were spending the summer here and whatever you need; you can get it later. And this way you'll get the first-hand experience of touring if you ever decide that being a shrink is boring and…shit" was Sebastian's explanation.

"Those are all valid reasons Seb but do you think this is a good idea? I mean we've just become friends again and…"

He interrupted, "And nothing Blaine. Just say yes, it'll be fun."

Blaine thought for a second even though he knew his answer, "Yes."

"Good, " Sebastian said as he wrapped his arm around Blaine's shoulder and then added as he noticed, "and don't panic but a cop just pulled up and he's walking towards us. Stay calm and let me do all the talking, okay?"

Officer asked as he walked where they were still sitting, "Gentlemen, what are you doing here? It's quite late at night. And you're trespassing a prohibited property."

"Hello officer, and sorry about this. My name is Sebastian Smythe. We just stopped to eat our food. We didn't want to eat and drive at the same time, you know with it being unsafe and all. We didn't see the sign in the dark but we can leave immediately"

"Do you have any identification on you boys?"

"Yes of course officer."

Officer asked as he saw the Ids, "And what did you say your name was again?"

"Sebastian Smythe"

And with that Sebastian sweet-talked the officer into letting them go. Apparently, his daughter had attended his Columbus concert and hadn't stopped talking about it since then. In return of that, he wrote a note to the officer's daughter and clicked a selfie with him.

"Thanks once again officer" Sebastian waved as Blaine drove them away.

Blaine had to ask, "I just want to know just how many times have you done this?"

Sebastian replied with his trademark smirk, "You don't want to know."

"I don't know whether I should be impressed or get mad at you for landing us in that situation in first place."

"Definitely impressed because I didn't even try anything and he let us go."

"Wait till I tell this to Natasha" Blaine reminded him before he could gloat anymore.

"Is this how you're gonna be when you come with me because then I don't think this is going to work. As an honorary member of my band, you need to take an oath that you don't tattle on me and the band."

Blaine had to admit Sebastian looked adorable in the moonlight filtering through the car windows as he waited for him to reply, "I'm an honorary member?"

"Well, you sang with us so that makes you one and you're gonna come on tour with us so yeah" he shrugged.

"I'm honored to be a part of it and in return, I'll keep this to myself" Blaine smiled as it felt he was one step closer to Sebastian. In that moment all he could think of blurting that he loved him and he'd do anything Sebastian would ask but neither this was the time nor the place for such admission.

As Sebastian kept on fiddling with the music, he found his latest summer hit, "Hey, my song."

"Do you always do this when your song comes up?" Blaine asked as Sebastian started singing along making him smile and warm inside.

"Well, not every time. Now let me enjoy it."

Blaine hadn't noticed how far they had driven but it didn't matter. By the time they got back, it was going to be morning soon and Sebastian had drifted off in the passenger seat. A sleeping Sebastian with all his defenses down was slight to behold. Despite the small space, he looked quite comfortable and innocent sleeping with his mouth very slightly open. Blaine couldn't remember if he ever had this opportunity before as he would always go back after hooking up or Sebastian would be the one who always woke up first. Even though they had pulled in the driveway, he didn't want this moment to end.

"I'm so sorry for everything," he whispered slowly as he quietly kissed the other man's cheek. And then proceeded to wake him up, "Seb… Seb. Wake up, we're here." Sebastian just hummed not getting up, "Seb, we're here, let's go inside."

The two were feeling the effects of last night's excursion next morning as they sat down to have breakfast before leaving, "This is too early. Now I know why I hate Mondays."

"That's what you get when you decided to sneak out last night after having a show. Why can't you behave responsibly Seb? You'll be dragging all day now" Natasha chided without looking up from her tablet as she sipped her coffee.

Sebastian replied looking one step away from sleeping back again, "I'll sleep on the bus and I won't complain anymore, I swear. And by the way, Blaine's coming with us on tour."

"Is that so?"

Blaine said when he noticed Natasha looking amused yet intrigued at the same time, "Only if it's okay with you Natasha, I don't want to impose."

"If the boss man said yes then who am I to complain? But I would've liked a bit prior notice Sebastian," she said but then looked at Blaine, "And Blaine I hope you know what you're getting into. You can take the empty bunk now that Hunter went back home. And call me Tasha, everyone else does."

"Works for me and thanks, Tasha. If you want I can help you, be your assistant if you like" Blaine suggested.

"You don't need to but we can work something out if you want. And I hope you've made arrangements for your car and the house."

"My brother will handle it, you don't need to worry about it."

Sebastian said as he let Blaine in the tour bus where some of the band members were having coffee and lounging around, "Welcome aboard. This is my crib, I'd give you a tour, but my bed is calling me. Maybe later and guys, Blaine's coming with us." Sebastian didn't wait for long as his phone started ringing and he excused himself.

Blaine said awkwardly, "Well that went well."

But Odessa came to his rescue since Tasha wasn't around as well, "So Blaine, let me give you a tour and show you your bunk. You can put your stuff here. There's coffee and breakfast out there if you want."

By the time they reached the next stop, it was clear that Sebastian's day was full and Blaine was going to entertain himself. Thankfully he made quick friends with the other people that were on the bus. And with his last update on the group chat, his friends knew exactly what his plans were now. After cautioning them against telling anybody else he decided to return Hunter's call.

Hunter got straight to the point after the pleasantries, "I heard that you're with Sebastian and Natasha. On tour."

"Yes"

"Well, I won't do the whole cloaks and daggers and get straight to the point. Sebastian is my brother that I never had; I've seen him at his greatest and at his worst. But for whatever reason, his choice in men has always been questionable. You're the only one I can justify. Whatever happened between you two is none of my business but it's clear to me that you have feelings for him after observing you. So if he gets hurt because of you, you won't know what will hit you. That being said I'm asking you to take care of him and Tasha for me. Got it?"

"Yes" was all Blaine could reply.

"Good. And we're keeping this between us, capiche?"

"Yeah" he agreed with a nod despite knowing that the other man couldn't see him. He should've known that what Hunter wanted when he was calling him earlier. A shovel talk was right up Hunter's Alley and he looked like he'd go through his threat and some of his friends namely Santana and Thad would gladly join him too. But he wasn't planning to make mistakes this time.

While Blaine was exploring next city, Thad, Hunter, and Andrew were having lunch in New York and he was the topic of their conversation, "Nick told me that Blaine is with Sebastian and Natasha, on the tour bus. How did that come about?"

Andrew replied, "If you had to ask that then my dear you're clearly blind. Seb and Blaine want each other and since both of them are not ready to admit that to each other, they're doing it their way of courting before one of them snaps."

Thad commented, "I'll bet the Blaine will be the first."

"I'm betting on Seb. He wouldn't have asked Blaine to join him if he wasn't ready to give up soon. This was his first move whether he acknowledges it or not" Hunter told them.

Andrew asked taking a sip of water, "So everyone's a _SeBlaine_ shipper here huh?"

"Really? Are we picking up ship names already? Though it sounds better than _BlaStian_ " Thad chuckled as he looked up from the menu.

When Andrew stepped out to take a call, Thad told Hunter, "Not to burst a hole in Andrew's ship but Kurt just entered the restaurant."

"Will he come here?" Hunter asked once he looked where Thad was looking.

"Who knows? He knows that I hate him so it's anyone's guess. If he wants to get into with me, he might if he happens to notice me. And looks like he did and he's coming here."

"Hello Thad, didn't think I'd see you here? Not your usual locality" Kurt said as he looked down on the duo.

"Just having lunch with my friends Kurt. Now if you excuse us"

But looked like Kurt wasn't ready to go, he asked nodding towards Hunter, "And who's this?"

"Hunter Clarington" Hunter didn't get up or even got into normal pleasantries when he saw Kurt's expression. "Go ahead, show us how immature you are," Thad said.

"It's just a very strange name one could think of for their child, no offense to you. Kurt Hummel" he replied trying to smooth out and put his hand forward. But Hunter wasn't having any of it; he just looked down on the outstretched hand and commented, "It's a family name."

"Your friend doesn't talk much, does he, Thad?"

Thad said trying to wrap it up, "Why don't you get on with why you came here? We both know that there's no love lost between the two of us."

"I just wanted to know if you had talked to Blaine recently. I'm trying to reach him"

"He's on a vacation. With his new man" Thad added knowing very well that it would light a fire under Kurt's ass and it wasn't a total lie technically.

And that comment had its intended reaction, "He's dating someone? Who? Don't tell me it's the Meerkat."

"Meerkat?" Hunter decided to play along.

"He calls Sebastian Smythe fondly as Meerkat, you know the singer?" Thad smirked.

"Of course I know who Sebastian is, my fiancé is crazy for him, plays his songs all the time."

Kurt rolled his eyes on hearing Sebastian's praise from yet another stranger. If only they knew how Kurt knew the said man. "If your fiancé is a fan of him, you need to get a new fiancé."

"Why? We both like him. And I'm trying to get him to sing for my wedding. Thad here is trying to convince him, I hope he agrees," Hunter told him with a fake smile.

"God save your marriage then," Kurt scoffed.

"Kurt, if you're done then let us get on with our lunch. We've other places to be, people to see," Thad said despite having too much fun on Kurt's expense.

"Who is Blaine dating?"

"He met him while he was on vacation. Love at first sight he said."

"You haven't met him yet then?"

"He looks good in pictures. Ah… our food is here. Later Kurt or never. And stop trying to reach Blaine, he doesn't want anything with you now that he's moved on" Thad said as he saw Andrew coming back. He didn't want yet another thing for Kurt to go off on.

"But…"

"Nuh…uh. We're done here, now let us eat in peace." Kurt had to walk away once he saw that neither of the two was giving him a second glance anymore and were already digging into their food.

"Watch it" they heard Kurt say as he almost collided with Andrew and walked away. Andrew asked as he noticed that it was the same person who was at their table, "Who was that? Did you two know him?"

"First guy your fiancé kissed" Hunter commented with a smirk before Thad could say anything.

It didn't take much for Andrew to get who Hunter was referring, "When would you and Seb stop bringing that up?"

"Till it's still funny"

"Never mind, so that was Kurt. I can see why Seb calls him the names he does. What did he want?"

"To find what Blaine has been doing?"

"And did you tell him?"

Thad answered, "Of course not. Hunter and I fed him a story that Blaine's on a vacation and met someone there. And he's in love."

"Technically it's the truth. Well played" he had to give it to the two. "At least now he'll leave Blaine alone for a while."

"Till he finds that Blaine is with Sebastian and they might or might not be dating by then," Hunter pointed out.

"And it still won't be his business who Blaine chooses to date," Thad said.

"Agreed"

The Kurt sighting wasn't kept secret from Blaine for long. Thad told Blaine on the phone, "I met Kurt today when I was out for lunch."

"And he repeated the same old mantra," Blaine concluded and then told him, "Well I met Burt and Carole at the charity benefit, they told me the same thing. What should I do with him?"

"Talk one last time to make him stop and then get a restraining order if he doesn't stop but that's just my expert opinion. And I kind of played with him."

"What did you tell him? Tell me all about it."

Once Thad recanted the whole incident, Blaine replied, "Of course he asked that. Me dating Sebastian; is his biggest nightmare. Well thanks for diverting him."

"What do you want to do with him now?" Thad asked.

"I'm going to take your advice; wait for some days and then call him. Tell him that what you said was true and there is no chance of us getting back together if that's what he wants. Hopefully, I get through him, as I don't want him to hassle my friends anymore. He's lucky that Santana stopped talking to him years ago or otherwise he would've not liked what she wants to do with him for his antics."

"I agree. Your friend Santana is one scary woman"

"Don't I know it? But only to people who deserve it."

"Like someone else we know" Thad reminded him.

"Never denied it, Thad."

"Good. Now, I'll talk to you later, gotta go. Bye."

Just as Blaine, Sebastian had received a similar call, "Just got off the phone with Hunter. He met Kurt; interesting day he had."

"I'm sorry that your friends are getting rolled up in Kurt's tantrums. If I could stop him somehow, I would" Blaine said sitting on the opposite couch in the green room.

"Honestly Blaine, I think you need to get some external help if Hummel and his family are not seeing sense. I don't know the whole situation and I'm trying to keep my dislike aside but you need to sort this out. Not for your friends' sake but for yours. If your past keeps on hanging on you, how are you going to move forward?"

"Speaking from experience hm?" Blaine had to seriously work on his brain-to-mouth filter around Sebastian, as he didn't even know how he could say that to him.

But Sebastian just shrugged it off without showing if he took it the way Blaine feared, "Yes I am."

Blaine followed Sebastian's lead and didn't ask any further explanation on his answer, "Thad told me the same thing. He suggested to talk to him one last time and then a restraining order if that doesn't work."

Sebastian reminded him, "Keep in mind that restraining orders are rarely permanent and they show up on your record. It might do more harm than good by tipping him off the edge in your case."

"I know and that's why I'm not even thinking it as an option as of right now. Maybe in the future, if things escalate to a point where I can't handle them but not now. I'll call him in a couple of days. Let him stew with the news that I have a fake new man in my life."

"Didn't you date anybody after you separated from Hummel? It's been more than a year now" he had to ask.

"I did go out on few dates but it wasn't exactly what I wanted. I've been in a relationship one way or another since I was 16 I think. I needed a detox and nobody caught my eye to take it far."

"Maybe you find somebody now. There's a lot of promising men that come to my shows, maybe someone will catch your attention," Sebastian suggested though his heart wasn't in it.

Blaine had noticed the hitch in Sebastian's voice but didn't comment. "Are you admitting that you do check out guys in the audience?"

"Of course. They've come to see me, I'm just returning the favor," Sebastian replied putting the mask back in place.

"And you've had the whole touring experience? Even having groupies and…?"

Sebastian smirked in a way that reminded Blaine of younger Sebastian, "What are you accusing me of Anderson? I'm a reputable artist you know"

"Come on. I know you, you can't honestly tell me that you haven't."

"Never denied it, and I did do it but in the very start. When I wasn't even famous but then it lost it charm after a couple of times. It's not as glamorous as you think it is. People just want the claim, nothing else."

"You've changed."

"Why, because I don't give myself to everybody?"

"Not particularly that. You've become more open about yourself and everything around you. And it's a good thing. I like the new you," Blaine told him.

Sebastian replied with narrowed eyes as Blaine was looking at him, "So glad I could be of your service. Now stop psychoanalyzing me."

"How did you…?"

"How did I know that you're analyzing me? Blaine, I've dealt with shrinks far longer than you've studied to become one. I know when people are trying to read me."

"Sorry. I didn't know I was doing that consciously. I'll try not to do that again," Blaine replied fully chastised.

"It's fine, I just don't like being under the microscope for everything I say," Sebastian said before looking away.

"I can understand" Blaine agreed and then decided salvage the conversation, "So you ready for tonight? You haven't dressed yet."

"Why, a t-shirt and jeans don't look performance worthy enough?"

"No…I"

"I was just joking. I just need to put a jacket on. Now, are you going to see from backstage or go out in the audience?" Sebastian asked with a smile back in place.

"In the audience, better view I heard"

"Well then off you go. I heard the main act is…"

But before Sebastian could complete, Odessa walked in, "No need to praise yourself, Bastian. Now if you're done then can we go through it one last time?"

"I'll excuse myself now. See you all afterward, break a leg!" Blaine said before walking out of the backstage.

This time Blaine was alone in the audience. No friends to distract his thoughts from wandering about the sudden turn of events. It seemed like whenever Sebastian was involved; his life always went in an upheaval. Not necessarily the bad kind but upheaval none the same.

From going to his apartment in New York to being here, joining him on a cross-country tour, it had been a journey of its own. If somebody had told him that he'd be doing this a year before, he would've asked them to get their heads checked. But he was grateful all the same for getting an opportunity to right things again.

But one thing was still not resolved, his feelings for Sebastian. Back in high school, he never let himself think about them and it led to all of this. But he was older and wiser now, it was clear that he wanted Sebastian and not just as a friend. And after observing the said man in last few days, he could deduce that Sebastian also had something that was holding him back from being himself completely in front of him. Whether those feelings were negative or positive, Blaine was going to sort it out this time instead of burying them in the sand like the last time.

He was going to use this golden opportunity to find if they were meant to be just friends or something else.

* * *

 _ **Important note:**_ This is the last chapter of this story. Next installment is 'The Fox and the Rose', do check it out.

And I want to thank each and every person who read my story, reviewed it, followed it, faved it and what not. This is my first time writing in this fandom and I had a great time :)


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